


Dear Leader, For You've Been Here The Longest

by erratiic



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Romance, Big Boy, Blood and Gore, Dwight thinks he doesnt deserve happiness, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, F/F, He's wrong, Headcanon, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Protective Dwight Fairfield, Protective Evan Macmillan, Secret Relationship, Sexual Tension, Size Difference, Size Kink, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Work In Progress, lowkey dwight wants evan to step on him, no beta we die like men, playful banter, they bully baby dweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:00:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24975739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erratiic/pseuds/erratiic
Summary: Dwight Fairfield had survived The Entity longer than any other survivor. At least, longer than any other survivor currently partaking in the trials. After extensive research and testing, he and his fellow survivors figure there was no way out of the eternal prison The Entity had shaped for them. Dwight Fairfield, a nobody in his old life, shoved aside like trash, was thrown into the spotlight and unofficially declared the 'leader' of the group of survivors, though this certainly didn't mean he survived every trial. In fact, he was more likely to die on the hook as a distraction in order for his friends to escape. Constantly, Dwight Fairfield died to save those he cared about and nobody seemed to notice anything wrong about it.Well, all but one.
Relationships: Claudette Morel/Meg Thomas, David King/Jake Park, Dwight Fairfield/Evan MacMillan | The Trapper, Frank Morrison/Quentin Smith
Comments: 117
Kudos: 473





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I just started playing Dead By Daylight a month or so ago and I liked the idea of Dwight and Evan being the oldest in The Entity, and since I didn't see many fics like this, I decided to write one of my own. Gotta write what I like to read, right? I'm gonna actually try and finish this fic as well lmao. I hope you enjoy my shitty attempt at a slow burn

The Universe seemed to hate Dwight Fairfield, and Dwight started to hate it right back.

Dwight's life had been relatively boring before getting sucked into The Entity. He worked a slow job at the local newspaper, where he edited stories that most likely got pushed to the back of the paper where nobody read his work, and as a pizza delivery service as a late-night driver. He made ends meet, living in a small one-room apartment where his dirty laundry and water bottles littered his furniture. It wasn't that Dwight enjoyed living in squalor, but working two jobs tirelessly made it difficult for him to find the energy or willpower to keep his home clean. Not that he had anybody to impress with it anyway, he hadn't had any romantic partner in god knows how long now. 

When he went out with his boss and some co-workers from his day job, he could feel something wasn't right. It felt like someone was looking into the back of his head, but when he turned around, he was only met with the cold and dark outlines of the trees in the surrounding forest. He would claim his unease was due to the moonshine they were all having. Too bad Dwight wasn't much of a drinker. 

One by one his co-workers started to leave the gathering and head up to the clearing where their cars were parked. Dwight was one of the last ones to leave but seemed to have gotten lost on his trip up to his car. The trees all looked the same to him, but he could've sworn they came from this direction. And that _feeling_. That gruesome, horrid feeling of eyes digging into every inch of his skin only got worse the further he walked the trail. But soon the walking turned into running as he swatted his way through thick branches and leaves, and the running turned into a full-blown sprint towards the supposed direction of his car, but instead of finding his old beat-up car, he slipped on the mud beneath his feet and collided with the ground below him. Well, there goes his nice white shirt. As he pushed himself off the ground to begin his sprint once more, he found himself shielding his eyes from a bright light. At first, he thought it was the headlights to his car, and he had finally gotten out of woods. Instead, as his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he wasn't faced with the front of his car, but instead of the crackling of a campfire. There were some logs scattered around, probably there from others who used the spot. But as Dwight yelled into the darkness of the forest surrounding him, he realized that there was nobody around to tend to the fire. It was just him, alone with his thoughts. 

Dwight had tried many times to escape the foggy depths of the forest, but no matter which direction he ran in, no matter what time (though his passage of time was warped as soon as he was dragged into The Entity) he was always swallowed back into The Entity and spit back out at the campsite. After a few... was it days? Weeks? He couldn't tell, but after a while, he eventually gave up and resigned himself to sitting on one of the wooden logs and listen to the never-ending roar of the fire. 

He was only the first to be dragged into The Entity. He knew more about it than anyone, and while he was still alone, he spent every waking moment he had studying it, how it behaved, how far he could push it. But eventually, he was no longer alone, as a young girl came jogging towards the camp. 

Meg was the second survivor to join him at the campsite, and he told her everything he knew about where they were and why they were there. The more people that came along, the less alone and terrified he felt. That was until the trials started, of course. 

Trials, like the one he was in now. Nea had just been hooked by the bulky man they all called The Trapper. The guy was huge, most definitely a foot taller than Dwight and much wider, though Dwight knew the taller man was much more muscle while Dwight was... not as fortunate. Dwight was crouched behind a tree with Feng beside him, while Bill was opening the exit gate behind them. They needed to at least try and save Nea, but they both knew that traps were hidden in the tall grass and in front of the pallets that normally provided a sanctuary for the survivors at The MacMillian Estate. Feng gave Dwight a look he had been given far too many times, but once again nodded in agreement. He would be the bait.

Dwight ran in the general direction of Nea on the hook, who was shouting at him to be mindful of the traps leading up to her hanging body. Dwight was all too aware, and when he saw the glistening of the metal bear trap just a short distance away from her hook, he didn't take a second to hesitate as he put his full body weight inside the bear trap, causing it to snap over his thin leg. Dwight yelled in agony- no matter how many times he had been in this situation, with a bear trap destroying his leg, it still hurt just as bad as the first time. The Trapper had shifted his attention to the trapped Dwight, who was curled in a ball, trying to pry the trap away from his leg, though he knew it was no use. While the burly killer was distracted, Feng gently pulled Nea off the hook and the two ran to the now opened Exit Gates. The three survivors shared a sad glance with the ensnared man, but he gave them a wave, putting a weak smile on his face despite the roaring pain in his leg. The three knew better than to save him, not while every pallet and patch of grass had a trap with their names on it. They took one more moment to look at the soon-to-be hooked survivor before turning and running out the door, leaving him behind once again. It no longer surprised him anymore, he had grown accustomed to the left for dead treatment, as he was the oldest there and knew these killers better than anyone.

Speaking of killers. The Trapper tilted his head at the trapped Dwight, and while the man couldn't exactly tell what the killer was feeling, the head tilt and lack of enthusiasm to pick him up made Dwight think the killer was confused. Confused on why he was left behind? That much was obvious- he wanted to save his friends. If _any_ killer knew that, it would be The Trapper. The two had been there longer than anyone else. The others joked about how there was always a standoff between Dwight and The Trapper whenever they were in the same trial, and it was moments like now where Dwight understood where they were coming from. This time, he just happened to lose. He'd accepted his fate as a dead man on a hook, yet again sacrificed to the hungry entity. Or maybe the masked killer wanted to kill him personally? Either way, he knew he was doomed, and just braced himself for it. 

The Trapper seemed to have no trouble hauling Dwight over his shoulder and carrying him across the map. Dwight found no use in struggling, there were several hooks the killer could have made it to before he would have the slightest chance of wiggling out of his arms. He was small, almost petite, and fragile in The Trapper's strong arms. Not fragile enough, he was afraid, as he was dragged to another hook. Another loss. Another shoulder wound for Claudette to heal. But Dwight quickly snapped his head up as he noticed they walked right past a hook. And then another. Was the man intentionally avoiding the hooks? Maybe he wanted a basement hook to appease The Entity. But the basement was in the killer's shack, and they had passed that long before starting this little journey. Where were they headed?

It never crossed Dwight's mind that The Trapper may be trying to spare him until he heard the familiar hum of the hatch in the distance. The noise turned into a wail, a cry for the lone survivor to find it and escape. Dwight still didn't bother to struggle when he saw it, and he was rewarded by The Trapper gently setting him on the ground next to the hatch. As if he were delicate enough to break if he had tossed him on the ground. As if the bear trap earlier didn't leave his leg in shambles. Not that he was paying attention to that now, all of his focus was shifted to the taller man who loomed above him. Dwight struggled to catch his breath, let alone speak. It took him a moment. 

"You're... Y-You, want... me, to... to escape..?" His words came out choked and blood dribbled down the corner of his mouth, staining his normally soft lips a cherry red. The Trapper said nothing in reply, only nodding and gesturing towards the hatch. His brain finally caught up to the situation.

The Trapper was showing him _mercy._

In all of Dwight's time in The Entity, never did a killer let one of their victims go free. All of their escapes were earned, never handed to them on a silver platter like this. But Dwight noticed the way The Trapper held him so carefully in his large arms, and how he gently set him down as to not agitate his leg further. How his little head tilts and twitches of his fingers held no malicious intent anymore as he studied Dwight, still sprawled on the ground where the man had left him. Maybe, deep down, there was a human inside that killer. But Dwight didn't want to stick around long to find out.

Mustering all the strength he could find, he crawled over to the opened door of the hatch. Its sweet lullaby drew him in, but he knew he couldn't just end the encounter like that. Before he let his body slip into the darkness, he turned his head towards the killer, who was still analyzing him from a few feet away.

"Thank you." It came out a hoarse whimper rather than loud, coherent words, but given the way The Trapper's head nodded ever so slightly told Dwight, he heard him loud and clear. Without hesitation, he allowed himself to slip into the hatch. He felt his body fall, turning in the abyss that was the hatch delivering him back to his home. Eventually, his feet hit solid ground, and he was able to approach the campfire, where his former teammates had gathered to discuss the match. Their faces were sympathetic when they saw Dwight but slowly turned into those of confusion as they noticed he hadn't been hooked. Feng was the one to speak first.

"What happened? I'm sorry we had to leave you..." Dwight knew everyone disliked leaving a teammate behind, and Dwight was usually that teammate. He shrugged and sat down next to the warm fire. 

"Not that he had much trouble without us, clearly." Bill huffed from where he was seated, a cigarette lodged in the corner of his mouth. While his tone was gruff, almost angry, Dwight knew he was only teasing.

"...he wanted to hook me in the basement, I think." Dwight lied. He never lied when it came to discussing the previous trial, but he knew he could never tell the others about the little interaction he had with the killer. Not that they'd believe him. "I managed to wiggle out and get to the hatch before he could grab me again."

While he and every survivor sitting at the campsite knew that wasn't The Trapper's MO, Dwight didn't know what else to say. And they were all inclined to believe him, given that he would _never_ lie about the events in a trial, and... well, the fact he survived the trail was evidence enough to them. When Dwight thought of 'greedy' killers, he thought of Michael, The Legion, The Clown. But rarely would he think of The Trapper. That was why he did so well in trials- the masked killer knew his limits and knew just what those traps were capable of. He never pushed his luck and often killed all of them. But not today, he supposed. The others all gave little hums of acknowledgment but said nothing else about the subject just yet. Dwight didn't really want to have that conversation yet.

"Well, I'm gonna go lie down. You guys stay safe out here."

Dwight waved to his friends who said goodnight to him, though they had no idea what time it technically was. He approached the little wooden hut he'd made when he first arrived. He was tired of getting rained on, and while the fire lasted forever, the dryness of his clothes did not. His little hut was nothing serious, in the basic shape of a teepee with leaves, torn papers, plastic, and ruined clothing acting as a roof and walls, while a zipper connected to the remains of a jacket was his front door, almost like the entrance to a trampoline. It was nothing special, but most survivors settled for sleeping on the ground, so at least it was better than that. Dwight gently set his glasses on the ground next to all the other collectibles he'd gathered throughout the course of the trials. He was lucky and managed to snag a blanket from Haddonfield which served as his source of warmth in the little hut. He tried to sleep, but his mind kept wandering to the events of the trial. He couldn't stop thinking about how gentle he was, and how his little mannerisms would be downright adorable had they not been the mannerisms of a deranged killer that had been hunting him the longest.

He sighed and put his hands over his face. There was no way he would be sleeping tonight. 


	2. Chapter 2

Dwight woke up to screaming.

At some point he'd managed to fall asleep after his latest trial, and woke up to a woman screaming. He didn't recognize the voice, so he sadly assumed that a new survivor had been sucked into The Entity. He got up and stretched, and let his hands wander the floor until he eventually found his glasses. The door to his little hut opened as he put them on, and Quentin had poked his head in. 

"D-Dwight? This... lady needs you. She's new." His voice was softer than normal- Dwight assumed the dreamwalker had also been asleep and woke up from the new survivor's yelling. He nodded and ran a hand though his messy hair and stood, letting Quentin walk him over to the campsite where the lady was.

The woman had short blonde hair which was messy and tangled. Her white vest and green skirt were covered in a mix of blood and dirt. She had several cuts and bruises on her arms and legs, and most likely on her chest as well, given how much blood was on her. She was shaking as the others tried to console her, but she seemed to lash out when anyone approached her. Dwight had never been good with confrontation, but he supposed he needed to try. If anything, he'd be able to talk to her when she eventually opened up to them. 

"Excuse me?" Dwight started, and the woman looked up at him, tears in the corners of her eyes. She was very clearly shaken, so he stayed back instead of approaching her. He didn't want to scare her off. 

"Who are you?! Why did you take me here?! I just wanna go home!" She yelled, pulling her body onto itself, like a big hug. Dwight always hated having to talk to new survivors. The despair and agony in their voices and faces always hurt him. 

"We didn't bring you here, I promise you. We were brought here just like you. We're not gonna hurt you." Dwight sighed, his voice low to not try and startle her. When she blinked, the tears in her eyes fell down his cheeks. 

"You were 'brought here'? Yeah, okay." She scoffed at his words. He understood her confusion and why she didn't trust them. Most new survivors were like this, scared of their situation and mistrusting of the people around them. Dwight assumed he would be too, if he hadn't been the first one. 

"Why do you think we haven't escaped yet if we willingly came here?" His question was rhetorical and she knew it. After a few moments had passed, he noticed her arms loosen around her body, and his shaky breaths start to even out a little.

"...so where are we, then?" She asked tentatively. She was scared, and he knew telling her about The Entity would only scare her more, but he couldn't lie to her. Dwight sighed, and beckoned Claudette to come over.

"It's... a long story. My friend Claudette has a few medkits, she can patch up those cuts. We can also get you a spare change of clothes, if you want." Dwight wanted to be hospitable, since the new life she had been thrown into was unforgiving. She nodded slowly, and Claudette approached the shaking survivor with a medkit. She crouched down and they introduced themselves. 

"Hey. I'm Claudette." She said with a smile. Claudette, having been one of the oldest survivors, knew just how difficult it was getting used to the new lifestyle. And she was there before they even started trials. The blonde swallowed loudly, and tried to return the smile.

"I... I'm Cheryl. Cheryl Mason. I'm... sorry for freaking out, it's just... I wanna go home." Dwight winced at her words, and so did Claudette. They all wanted to go home, but they sadly had to break the news to her that going home wasn't an option anymore. 

"I've been here for... a while. The Entity makes it hard to-"

"The Entity?" The woman asked, her eyebrows furrowing at his words.

"...How about you tell me how you got here, if that's okay? It'll help all of this make sense." Dwight suggested, and given that she didn't start crying or screaming again, he figured she was okay with it. 

"Well... I was on an emergency phone call. I started working at an emergency help center for runaway kids. I used to be one, and... nobody should have to go through that, you know?" Dwight took a seat on one of the logs in front of her. "It was my first unsupervised phone call. When I picked up, it... was someone from my past. A monster." The hatred in the word 'monster' was loud and clear. Dwight knew better than to ask about it.

"I though I had killed her, but there she was. Over the phone, taunting me. I... I got lightheaded, I started screaming, crying... She was supposed to be dead! I killer her years before then! I didn't know what to do, I just sunk to the ground and cried... and when I woke up, I was in the forest. And _he_ was there, chasing me. I ended up here, and... you all know the rest." She ended her story with a sigh. It made sense to Dwight then- The Entity fed off of hope, and when she realized this person from her past was still alive, she had lost all hope in herself. In her survival, maybe. In any case, there was a more significant part of that story he needed to focus on.

"Who was chasing you?" Dwight's mind just went to the worst thing- a new killer. It was like clockwork- every time a new survivor or two arrived, another killer was always there to join them. Ash was the only exception, but they all figured he was an outlier.

"...Pyramid Head." Cheryl opened her mouth to speak again, but her hands fell over her chest and her mouth closed. A tugging at her heart- she was being pulled to a trial. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, so was Dwight.

"I think we're about to find out who this guy is. Come on, we have to go to the trial." Dwight stood and offered her his hand.

"Trial?" She questioned, taking his hand to stand up. He nodded, handing her the remains of Claudette's medkit for her to use in the trial, and leading her away. As they walked, Dwight quickly explained the trials and what they needed to do in order to escape.

"Stay with me this match. If you get chased, always look for a pallet. The killer's shack is a great place to go as well, if you're close." She nodded, and black clouded their vision. When they opened, they were at the swamp. At least it was a familiar map. Dwight had looked around the area and spotted Cheryl a ways away, crouching behind a tree. He ran over to her and grabbed her hands, leading her to the middle generator on the boat.

"Meg and Adam are probably on another gen... Cheryl, watch me for a minute, and then start repairing the generator." She nodded, watching Dwight's practiced hands connect wires and push things back in place. After a moment, she also started to work on the gen. 

"Sometimes you'll get sparking wires. As long as you don't flinch and connect them, the gen will be fine. If you mess up... it explodes for a moment. That'll alert the killer." Dwight explained, never once looking up so he could get the gen done faster. After a while, they heard a scream in the distance- Meg must've gotten hit. Dwight noticed Cheryl's shaking hands when she heard the scream.

"She'll be okay, I promise you. If they're after her, that means they're not after us, and we can get this gen done." Cheryl nodded and kept working on the gen, but by the time it was finished, another scream from Meg let them know she was downed. Dwight leaned over one of the railings and saw the killer holding Meg. Cheryl joined him at his side, and he pointed at them.

"Is that Pyramid Head?" He asked, and she nodded. He sighed and nodded, taking her hand and leading her to a gen that was farther away. Meg was hooked soon after- he just hoped Adam was able to get the save so he could stay with Cheryl.

"Do you know how he attacks? Does he have anything special?" Dwight whispered, having her crouch in the tall grass as they approached the gen. 

"My father fought him. He told me stories about it. He has this long sword he carries behind him, and he drags it on the ground sometimes, making this... ditch. He said when he stepped into the crevice, it made his eyesight and hearing a little funny, and he got a little slower." She explained carefully, working on the gen next to him. "He said he had this long attack... he pushed his sword into the ground, and it made the ground shoot up like needles, I think? And it worked from a distance, he said. Then there's the cage-" As she started her next sentence, Dwight noticed the panic in her hands and she failed to connect two wires, and the gen blew up in her face. Dwight looked around frantically, and pointed to a jungle gym next to them.

"There's most likely a locker in there, a big red one. Get inside it and don't get out until you know he's gone."

"But how will I-"

"Listen to your heartbeat, and trust me, you'll know. Go!" He practically commanded, and she ran into the maze of walls and hopefully into a locker. Dwight saw the menacing figure approach the gen- a tall hulking... man? His face was obstructed by a giant metal cone sitting atop his head. His worn apron was stained in Meg's blood, and so was the oversized kitchen knife he dragged behind him. Dwight knew what he needed to do.

Scrambling to his feet, he pushed himself in the opposite direction of Cheryl, towards a T and L wall. The figure followed him, and he stabbed the ground in front of him. Dwight panicked and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding a wave of... was that barbed wire? Whatever it was, it missed him, so he got up and kept running. The man was approaching, and fast. Dwight vaulted the window and turned to the right of the L wall, waiting to see where the killer went. Dwight backed away, and for good reason, because he could see the killer trying to cut him off. He figured he could get a few loops before taking a hit. 

He ran back around, and in that time he heard Cheryl finish her gen, and Meg and Adam finish theirs. That left two gens left, and the hatch had spawned somewhere. Shit, he'd forgotten to tell Cheryl about the hatch. He'd have to do that later. For now, he needed to focus on evading this killer. He looped around and stepped into some kind of red... thing, and stepping in it made him scream in agony. It didn't exactly injure him, it just left his legs weak and his vision skewed for a moment. That must have been what Cheryl was talking about. It was enough for the guy to get a hit on him though, and he hissed as he was hit with the long knife. It didn't matter, he told himself, he had to keep going.

There were only so many pallets on the map, and Dwight, over the years, became notorious for being greedy and saving the pallet until the last possible moment. And despite the fact this was a new killer with new abilities, that fact didn't change. That led to him getting hit through the pallet and collapsing in pain on the ground. To the hook he went.

Sitting on that hook, he was a bit proud of himself. He'd managed to keep Cheryl out of harm's way and she knew how important gens were, so she finished it. He hoped that either Meg or Adam came to her aid, but he knew that wasn't totally likely, unless they found each other on a gen.

From a ways away, he saw Meg approach, crouched in the bushes. The killer had left him there, but he didn't know how quickly he could return, and neither did Meg. Oh, the joys of facing a new killer. Either way, she safely got him off the hook and they ran to safety, where she started to heal him up.

"What the hell is that thing?" She asked under her breath. "He took me down in under a minute! He's got that range attack and that long ass sword..." 

"I don't know. Cheryl briefly told me about him. Apparently he has cages too. I don't know how different those are from hooks." He explained quickly. "There's this red thing he can do, it leaves this ditch in the ground and when you step in it, it'll slow you down. Don't step in it."

"Jesus, cages? What kinda kinky bastard is he, huh?" She teased, and while he knew she was just trying to brighten the mood, he could still see the terror on her face. Dwight laughed anyway.

"I know, I know. Let's get on a gen. You know where Adam or Cheryl are?" He asked as they both quietly walked to another gen. She shrugged.

"I dunno. Adam was the one to unhook me, and he ran off to do a gen, and I went to heal and do a different one." He then noticed her bandaged legs and chest. "I haven't seen Cheryl all trial."

The two got on the gen, and heard another finish in the distance. One more to go. "I was with Cheryl at the beginning. We finished the middle gen, and got on another. When she blew it up, I told her to get in the locker so I could take the agro. I heard her finish that gen, but I don't know where she went after that. She doesn't know where the gens are."

"She's gotta figure all the maps out on her own, Dwight." Meg reminded him. "I know you like helpin' her out, but y'all can't stay attached at the hip for every trial. You know that." 

"I get it, but she just got here." Dwight held his breath as he managed to barely hit a skill check. "I have to help her out a little."

"She ain't a baby, like you." She sent him a playful grin for a moment, before shifting her attention back to the gen. Dwight appreciated her jokes and banter. It often lifted his spirits, if only slightly, when in a trial. "If she was able to fight off that big bastard, or whatever kinda monster she was talkin' about before, then she's more than capable of findin' a few gens by herself. And if not, this is the last one. We can find her after."

He supposed she had a point. Dwight had a tendency to be very protective of the newest survivors, almost like a protective father. Granted, he was like that over everyone, and that was why he was so willing to let himself die for their sake, but it was most noticeable with new survivors. 

"I guess." He said with a sigh, but was cut off by Adam getting hit in the distance. Dwight pointed to the gen, keeping Meg on it until it was done. If he managed to take a hit for him, they both should be able to get out using Meg's Adrenaline. As he ran, he heard Cheryl and Adam scream together. That must have been his long attack. Well shit, this wasn't going as planned. If he wasn't able to bodyblock for hem, there was a low chance they'd all make it out. 

As Cheryl ran past him, Dwight pointed her in the direction of the nearest Exit Gate, which soon lit up when Meg finished the generator. She kept running, and he ducked behind a log watched as he got hooked. When he watched the killer run to the Exit Gate he unhooked Adam, but the monster turned around and chased after them. Remembering bodyblocking would be difficult he parted ways with Adam, instead choosing to duck into the killer's shack. Not that it mattered, he wasn't chasing him anyway. When Dwight heard him scream again, he knew Adam was downed. But instead of taking him to the hook, he seemingly stabbed him, but instead of killing him, he was sent to-

"So that's the cages she was talking about." Dwight huffed and made a break towards the opposite end of the map, where he could see the red outline of Adam's aura inside the cage. Pyramid Head seemed to run to the exit gate where hopefully Meg and Cheryl were already escaping from, so he had a relatively safe chance at getting Adam out. Though he was winded by the time he made it that far, he tore open the door to the cage and let Adam out. 

"Cages? Are you kidding me?" Adam huffed as they ran across the map. They were cut off by a loud noise- Pyramid Head had started his long attack. Dwight pushed the already injured Adam out of the way so he took the hit himself, and the two kept running. As they approached the exit gate, Adam got downed again. He saw Meg and Cheryl crouched by the door. He pushed himself to keep going, but when he looked behind him he was slashed in the back by Pyramid Head's long knife.

The trial ended shortly after, with Dwight and Adam both getting the cage treatment. When they all met at the campfire again, they immediately started discussing attacks and ways to avoid the killer. 

"We could use Dead Hard." Meg suggested. "It could get us out of the way of that long attack."

"But we won't always have enough energy for that. And he could always use it more than once." Dwight countered. It was a good idea nonetheless, but they had to consider all options.

"So Sprint Burst?" She asked again. This time Adam shook his head.

"I don't think it'll work every time."

"Well nothin' works every time, jackass. I just need it to save my ass once or twice in a trial." 

"Okay, okay." Dwight cut things short by standing up. "We can talk about this later. We can't get at each other's throats, and we still have to inform the others." 

Dwight started to walk around and gather the rest of the survivors to the campfire. Everybody else needed to be informed of the new killer. As he was telling Ace and Bill to head to the campsite, he felt the all too familiar pull of a trial.

"Again?" He muttered to himself. Looking around, he saw Jane, Kate and Nea rise as well. 

"Hey," he started, keeping his eyes on those he just ended the trial with. "Make sure you tell them about this new killer. I have to go to this trial." He was met with nods and hums of agreement, and he walked into the forest and to his next trial.

Back at it again, he supposed. Maybe he could get some rest after. New killers and survivors always left Dwight exhausted, but that didn't matter now. He had a killer to escape from. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was a bit of a different chapter than what i'd normally write, but this isn't la la land where dwight always gets trials with the trapper. i wanted to have a chapter or two introducing the silent hill chapter and having dwight be present in other trials. to make up for the lack of trapper/dwight content, i'll fix up another chapter for y'all tonight. either way, i hope you enjoyed !


	3. Chapter 3

A few days had passed since Cheryl had arrived in The Entity. Dwight was rarely in trials with her, so he had to rely on his teammates to tell her about map layouts and about the killers they were up against. This time, however, was a bit different. 

Closing his eyes, he arrived in a trial next to all of his fellow survivors, including Cheryl. He, Cheryl and Feng got on the closest generator while Ash went off to do another by himself. The Coldwind Farm was one of Dwight’s favorite places to go- the corn made it much harder to see, and therefore much easier for killers to lose them. Or, at the very least, more difficult to predict what they were going to do.

Dwight had noticed a shift in behavior in some of the killer’s recently. He’d confided in Claudette and Jake about it, and they said they’d noticed the same thing. Their behaviors were... off. While Dwight kept his encounter with The Trapper a secret, it wasn’t just him that was behaving differently. Claudette noticed The Wraith running through pallets without a care in the world and practically allowing himself to get stunned, while Jake noticed The Nurse’s predictions being much... worse than normal. Like she was expecting them to play offensively all the time. Overall, the killers had been acting strange, and almost more aggressive. Well, other than The Trapper.

The gen was quickly finished with no sight of the killer. Dwight was worried it might have been Michael or Ghostface hiding somewhere and waiting until they were able to hit them all down instantly, but the attacks never came. Cheryl instinctively followed Dwight and they parted ways with Feng. He led Cheryl through the corn, keeping his eyes up until he saw a glistening in the corner of his eye. He pushed Cheryl back, who grunted in protest, but borderline gasped when she saw why. Hidden in the corn, next to one of the middle gens, was a shiny bear trap. Shit.

”The Trapper. Have you fought against him before?” Dwight asked, leading her around the trap. He figured it would be better to not set it off to not alert the killer to their location and start a chase. Cheryl shook her head.

”The others said he’s been here as long as you have. And he’s very efficient.” Dwight agreed with both statements. They had both been there the longest, and in that case you could call them ‘enemies’, but Dwight cared more about his and his friend’s survival than a rivalry.   
  


“That would be correct. He’s very good at what he does. Never go to the killer’s shack without checking for traps beforehand, trust me.” He instructed, and she nodded and continued to follow him through the thick fields of corn. "The center building is probably trapped too. We'll go to a gen on the outskirts for now." 

He was talking mostly to himself rather than Cheryl. Sometimes he found it easier to say his plan out loud so he didn't get flustered and make silly mistakes. It was a skill you needed to have in the trials. Leading Cheryl away, they both got on a gen and got to work. Dwight was worried this trial- he assumed The Trapper would target Cheryl, as she was new and would be an easy kill, while Dwight was experienced and knew how to avoid getting hit for a while. Now that he thought about it... could that be why the killers were acting so strangely? A new killer to the ranks, and a new survivor to torment? He'd have to ask Claudette and Jake about their thoughts later. For now, he could hear his heartbeat thumping in his ears. Time to run.

Cheryl, upon noticing her own heartbeat, started to get up and leave, but The Trapper came from behind her and slashed her back, making her cry out in pain. Dwight gasped for air and got off the gen, leaving her behind, but it seemed like the killer was after him now. _Great_. Dwight jumped through a window and started running left, and when he saw the killer do the same, he turned around again, ready to vault the window. When he saw the killer come back to the window he jumped. There was a split second of hesitation from The Trapper to bring the cleaver down on him, and thus he was able to narrowly avoid getting hit through it and continue running. 

The chase didn't last much longer after that. Dwight eventually got hit, but upon hearing a trap get set off close by, The Trapper chose to run after the ensnared survivor instead. Dwight took that time to get back on the generator he and Cheryl were on, but heard Cheryl got put on the hook in the distance. He'd finish the generator before going after her, he decided. Unless someone else went to save her, which was fine by him. After a moment he assumed the killer would come back to patrol the gen, since he'd left Dwight, but he was able to finish it before he could make it back. Shortly after, Cheryl got unhooked, but Feng screamed in pain- she must have taken a hit for her. 

Well, if The Trapper were after them, he wasn't after Dwight. He chose to head to the middle generator, where the front door was wide open, but he noticed a bear trap next to the window. He assumed the other window was also trapped, so his best bet was to set one off. If he was after the girls, he doubted The Trapper would go after a bear trap being detonated but not actually trapping anyone. As he set off the trap, Feng loudly screamed in the distance. She was downed, but it was her first hook. They had three gens done and no kills yet- that was unusual for The Trapper. 

Dwight dedicated himself to the gen, but upon realizing he was the closest to her hook, he should go save her. He had to be careful- he was still injured, after all. He looked out the window to make sure both sides weren't trapped, and when he saw the coast was clear, he snuck out the window and made his way to the struggling Feng.

The Trapper had most likely left a trap somewhere near her hook, so he had to play it slow and safe. He slowly approached her, and she pointed down at the ground a couple feet in front of him. He nodded and looked for any more, but she assured him there weren't any other traps. As he got her off the hook, Cheryl screamed in the distance, getting downed again. Her second hook. 

"Here, let me heal you real quick." Dwight whispered, and took out some loose bandages from his pocket. At least they had time to heal, if he was after Cheryl. And he doubted the man would come back to the hook, unless he wanted his bear trap back? Dwight's mind was racing, like it always did during trials. It was fine, he told himself. If Feng was healed, she would be able to get away, and Dwight would be on his first hook. 

"I can go get Cheryl again-"

"No. You get on a gen and don't get hooked again. I haven't been hooked yet." Dwight assured her, and she nodded in agreement. She left and went in the direction of the middle gen Dwight was working on, while he went after Cheryl. It was still risky, as he was still injured, but when he heard another gen get finished, he knew Ash had been on generators the whole trial. That was fine, he supposed. Someone needed to. 

The Trapper had lingered near the hook, and he was just now leaving when Dwight arrived. He ducked in a nearby locker until he heard the heartbeat slowly fade away, and then went to unhook her. 

"Did he trap around here?" Dwight asked, gently grabbing under her shoulders and lifting her off her hook. She shook her head. Ash was the one who screamed next, and Dwight's bond with his fellow survivors let him see his aura- he was headed this way.

"We gotta go, c'mon." Dwight grabbed her hand and led her away, where he ushered her into a locker and he continued to run. Ash screamed again, this time getting caught in a trap inside the killer's shack. Figures.

Dwight supposed he would be the savior this trial, but when he saw The Trapper lead him to the basement, he knew it would be difficult. Basement saves were always hard against The Trapper. Despite this, when Dwight saw the killer take the man downstairs, he hid outside the window and waited for the man to leave. After getting his hook the last gen got completed, and he assumed either Feng or Cheryl would get the gates opened. 

Dwight didn't exactly anticipate The Trapper leaving the killer's shack through the window. His only warning was the sound of him setting up a trap just outside it before he climbed out. Dwight went around and waited on the side of the shack, and when he saw The Trapper start to leave, he set off the trap outside the door and ran down. Hearing his heartbeat loud in his ears, he unhooked poor Ash.

"Let me take a hit for you, go out the door with the pallet. Go!" He yelled as he unhooked him. The pair started up the stairs, Dwight leading the way with Ash right behind him. As he turned the corner, he braced for a hit that came down on his stomach. He yelled as he sunk to the floor, writhing in pain as Ash left out the shack door, throwing the pallet behind him. The Trapper started to chase after him, and Dwight used this time to crawl out of the basement and towards one of the exit gates. While Ash made it far, he didn't make it out, and he heard him get hooked again. Dwight saw Cheryl run towards him to try and heal him enough, but upon hearing the killer approach, she ran.

"I'm sorry, Dwight!" She called behind her as she ran to the exit gates and out the door, leaving Ash dead on his hook and him still writhing on the ground. Dwight correctly assumed Cheryl dragged Feng out as well, normally she would attempt to at least save Ash, who was closer. But that never happened, and Dwight had to watch his friend die on that hook. And he would soon be next.

The Trapper emerged from the corn to see Dwight, curled in a ball holding his bleeding torso. He didn't bother trying to heal himself or crawl away, he just resigned himself to his death. He looked up at the killer, his eyes doe-eyed and wet with tears due to the pain. Blood stained his face on his cheek and forehead. The Trapper stared at Dwight for a moment, right into his wide, round eyes. He took a step forward and bent down, but instead of grabbing him, he simply wiped his cheek with his thumb, wiping the blood from his face. It took Dwight all of his remaining strength to not flinch away from his touch. Normally that meant death. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

Dwight stayed in a shocked silence as his killer wiped the blood away from his face until he was almost clean. He just watched the mask, trying to see the eyes that were underneath. From how close he was, Dwight could see they were a dark green. They were almost pretty, if they hadn't been attached to the man who just murdered his friend a few feet away. When the man was satisfied he stood back up, like he was admiring his work. 

"Why...?" Dwight started, swallowing a lump in his throat. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath through the whole encounter, so to have air leave his lungs felt almost heavenly. The Trapper stared into his eyes for a moment, before grabbing the bottom of his mask and gently lifting it up, enough to see his mouth. There was a small scar at the corner of his mouth, and it appeared to be old. His lips were seemingly chapped, but it's not like that had any chapstick around here. Despite that, his lips were almost the same shade of pink Dwight's were. Dwight was shocked to see his face, even if only slightly. This never happened before. 

"...like you. You're... kind. Others are... not. Left you and your friend... to die." Dwight had never heard his voice before. Sure, he made grunts of pain and annoyance when they threw pallets down on him, and the rare instance where he stepped in his own bear trap and he winced, but he never heard him talk. His voice was deep and gravelly, but it sounded like it physically pained him to speak. Dwight's voice was much higher pitched compared to his, but he supposed he was the exact opposite of The Trapper. Dwight was slim, pale and had the face of a 'pretty boy' according to Meg and Jane (and a twink according to Nea), while The Trapper was quite tan and much bulkier than Dwight could ever hope to be. While Dwight couldn't exactly make out the rest of his face, he had a distinguished jawline as well. Not exactly the 'pretty boy' look.

"My friends... they're good people. They're just scared. New. You... You're smart enough to know that." Dwight muttered, feeling blood pile in his mouth until he had to turn and cough to let it out. He looked back up at The Trapper, who had fixed his mask again. Dwight felt blood fall from the corner of his mouth and down his chin, but he didn't care. He hadn't realized his glasses were bent either. The Entity was at least kind enough to repair his glasses when they broke. That was one of the few good things about it. 

The Trapper approached him again, this time grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and throwing him over his shoulder. Dwight didn't struggle, he just curled himself up as best he could to ignore the pain. Dwight closed his eyes, and when he was released he was at the exit gate. The Trapper pointed for him to leave. Dwight knew he didn't have much time left, and if he stuck around, The Entity would claim him itself. So with one last puppy-eyes look at the killer, he crawled his way out the gates and to his escape.

When he returned to the campsite he was at least able to walk, but the gash on his torso still needed treatment. Claudette had been teaching Meg basic ways to heal. Apparently, while she got accepted into college on a sports scholarship, she was trying to get her degree in sports medicine, but she was taken by The Entity before that could happen. Dwight hoped at least one of they would be able to help him when he arrived.

Dwight had been thinking ever since he escaped the trial. There was no way he could lie about this one- he was downed quite a ways away from the exit gates, and Cheryl had forced Feng to leave him and Ash behind. There should have been no way he escaped that trial. Lying wouldn't work, and he _never_ lied when it came to trials. Only recently had he been withholding the truth of his interactions with The Trapper, but now? There was no way they'd believe him if he claimed he got away. He had to come clean.

"Dwight?" Claudette looked up from where she was stitching up Ash's shoulder, with Meg watching next to her. "You survived?"

Dwight swallowed his fears and nodded. "He... He let me go."

"He did _what_ now?" Ash raised an eyebrow at Dwight, who was shuffling his feet in the dirt to avoid looking at his fellow survivors. "Dwight, this isn't a game-"

"I know it isn't!" He retorted quickly. "Why else do you think I made it out? You know as well as I do that there would be no way I'd make it to the exit gates by crawling, and I didn't even know where the hatch was. There would be no way I escaped on my own without his help."

The five survivors stared at Dwight with surprised and confused faces, but they knew he was right. Especially Cheryl and Feng, who had left when the timer was halfway up. Dwight was too far away from the gate to escape on his own, and Cheryl knew the hatch spawned by one of the jungle gyms across the map. Dwight couldn't stand being the center of attention, and he didn't like having everyone's eyes be on him. He kicked the dirt and sighed.

"Look, I'm gonna go lay down for a minute, I'll come back out after I have time to think." He huffed and walked to his little hut once more. Once inside, he let his glasses fall off his face and onto the floor. They'd be repaired by his next trial anyway. He held his cheek where The Trapper had been so careful with him, and sighed. It almost felt... nice. Like he was being cared for and looked after, and it had been so, _so long_ since he last felt that way. But then the guilt settled in. He obviously enjoyed that feeling, but he knew he shouldn't when the person caring for him had been the one killing him and his friends since he first got there. But _god,_ did it feel nice.

His thoughts were interrupted by a light knocking at his 'door'. "May I come in?" It was Claudette's voice, soft and sweet. Dwight made a humming noise, allowing her to come in. She opened the zipper and stepped inside, closing it behind her. Dwight saw she was carrying a medkit.

"What about Ash?" he asked quietly, and unbuttoned his shirt to let her see the gash. Even he avoided looking at it until then, and while The Entity stopped the bleeding and some of the pain, it was still a large gash. Soon to be infected as well, if it wasn't taken care of.

"I left him with Meg. She's been watching me carefully since I started teaching her about medicine and plants with medicinal properties. I think letting her patch him up on her own will be good for her." She spoke with such fondness in her voice. Dwight knew she cared deeply for Meg, as they were the only two girls at the beginning of all of this. They were all close- including Jake, of course- but recently he saw a shift in the air between Meg and Claudette. The way they looked at each other, how they looked so happy when with one another, the way their friendly gestures of affection lasted a moment longer than they should. 

Almost like him and The Trapper.

"Y-Yeah. It probably will be." He spoke to ignore his intrusive thoughts. He wasn't like that. The Trapper was only being kind because a new killer was on the block, that was it. In due time, he would go back to ruthlessly slaughtering him the way he used to. 

"So..." Claudette started, applying rubbing alcohol to a wash cloth. "Getting spared, huh? This might sting."

Dwight tried to let his body relax as she wiped down the wound. It still stung as bad as the first time, much like everything else in The Entity. "I-I know it sounds crazy, but it happened, Claude. He just... picked me up and took me to the exit gate." 

Claudette nodded, still staying focused on her work. "He's acting different. _Much_ different. Like some of the other killers. Jake said The Huntress had been very aggressive during her trials as well. But that's weird, isn't it? The Trapper being kind while everyone else trying to be more brutal?" 

"...Claude, this isn't the first time he's done this." That made Claudette look up from his gash.

"Come again?"

"He spared me once before, too. That was before Cheryl was here. Granted, it was only a trial before, but still. I think all the other killers have been more aggressive because of Pyramid Head being new. He's so brutal- not that everyone else isn't- and I think they want to step up their game for a while. Play more aggressively."

"That would make sense for every other killer," She started, grabbing bandages and started to wrap them tightly around his stomach. "But that doesn't explain why he's been sparing you. And _you,_ specifically."

Dwight raised his arms a little to give her easier access to his torso. "I don't know why he's being like this, Claudette." He decided to not tell her about what he said and their little interaction. Eventually, he'd let her, Meg, and Jake know, but it was too early for that. Claudette hummed in acknowledgement, and the two stayed in silence until she was done bandaging him up.

"Well, I don't know what's happening either. But you shouldn't come to expect him to spare you every trial." She warned, and he nodded. He helped her gather the rest of the materials and put them back inside the kit.

"I know, I know. Thanks for letting me talk, Claude." He said with a small smile. She returned it with a smile of her own, and she opened the door to his hut. 

"Of course, Dwight. Get some rest now. That gash should be getting healed up soon. You should be fine by tomorrow night." He nodded and let himself lay back down. He waved at her before she shut the door, and he rolled onto his side. 

He wasn't a drinker before, but now he was starting to crave a beer. Or twelve.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry about the delayed chapter,,, i mean, it’s only a day, but still. as i was writing it the page crashed and half of the chapter was deleted, so i kinda lost motivation to write for the rest of the day. i know if i don't consistently update this i'm going to loose interest and not finish it, and i don't want that! i want to write a cohesive, finished story for yall. again, i'm sorry for the delayed chapter, and i hope you enjoy !
> 
> also,,, i'm living for meg with an accent oKAY BYE

There were rare times where Dwight wasn't in trials for a while. Normally he was constantly getting dragged to trials with minimal free time in between. It was a lifestyle he had grown used to, so he grew antsy when he wasn't pulled to trials for a while. He bounced his leg and fidgeted with his hands even as he was laughing alongside his friends sitting around the campfire. 

"I know! And after that, the coach never said anythin' bad again! Served him right!" Meg laughed with Jake and Claudette. They were all sharing stories about their lives before The Entity. They all realized that they were never getting out, and they had the most time to process that fact. That's why it was so easy to talk about their lives before. It was just like telling a story to a new friend. They were making new memories anyway, even if they weren't the nicest.

"Ah... Dweet, baby, did you ever play sports in high school?" Meg asked, still smiling at him. His face flushed a little, at the nickname and the question. Of course he didn't. Did it look like Dwight played sports? 

"Uh... no, I didn't. Last time I played sports was in middle school and a kid broke my nose. And purposefully stepped on my glasses." He laughed a little at the memory. Granted, he kind of deserved it, since he robbed the game winning home run from going over the fence. He used to be decent at baseball. "I stopped sports then, but I did a lot of photography and journalism stuff."

"That ain't surprising." Meg chuckled, scooting closer to the fire for warmth. Dwight noticed Claudette followed her. 

"Journalism?" Jake asked, a hint of a smile on his face. "I can see you as a little journalist. You'd be so shy asking all those questions." The group laughed and Dwight looked down, his face going redder. Jake wasn't wrong- Dwight hated confrontation. Despite that, pursuing journalism was always a dream of his, and was why he worked for the newspaper company before he was taken by The Entity.

"I used to do interviews before, actually. When I worked for the newspaper, I had to once or twice when my coworkers were sick." 

"Aww, baby Dweet as a journalist! Someone get him a journal and a pen. He can go 'round and ask us questions like a professional." The group laughed again. The idea wasn't half bad, honestly. Even if he was just interviewing his friends, getting to relive his life before The Entity and further pursue his dream of being a journalist would be nice. He knew better than to ask, though. He'd rather not get bullied for the rest of eternity.

"You said you did photography as well?" Claudette asked, a small smile on her lips. "You can take my wedding photos."

"Who's the lucky guy?" Jake asked, crossing his arms. The overprotective tone in his voice was fake, and they all knew it. "I gotta approve of him first."

"Oi, who said it'd be a guy, huh?" Meg asked, grabbing Claudette by her shoulders and pretending to hold her away from Jake. The older woman gasped and hid her face in her hands, making Meg smile. So Dwight was right before, then.

"Alright, I'll take your wedding photos. I'll tell you my prices later."

"Deal, Fairfield. I'm gettin' married!" 

They all laughed again, including the still embarrassed Claudette. For a moment, Dwight had forgotten Meg was still only twenty. Jake and Claudette were twenty four when they were taken, and Dwight was the oldest, being twenty eight. 

"H-Hang on, why am _I_ the one being called the baby when I'm eight years older than you?" Dwight asked playfully. 

"Sheesh, Fairfield. You really that old?" Jake asked, making Dwight roll his eyes. He wasn't the oldest out of all the survivors, but he was up there. He certainly wasn't as young as Feng- that poor girl was still in her teens. 

"I'm not that much older than you and you know it." He said with a huffed laugh. It was times like this when he realized that maybe, deep down, he had hope for himself and his friends. Their eventual escape. Of course, that was only a dream they all knew would never come true, but it was fun to think about.

Dwight rarely felt happy anymore. Mostly he felt a mix of fear, agony, and nervousness. Maybe the occasional confusion or anger. Happiness was something they all rarely experienced in The Entity. It felt wrong to be happy, like he was a dirty human being for it. He supposed realizing the rest of your existence will be spent in suffering will do that to a person. He tried not to think about it as much. 

"Yeah, yeah. You're no Overbeck." Meg teased with a smile, waving to the veteran who had walked by. He rolled his eyes.

"I may be old, but I can run your ass around any day of the week."

"Oh yeah? Try me, old man! I'll bet my last purple toolbox on it!"

"Oh, now you've got a deal."

Meg got up and ran after the man, who ducked behind a tree. Dwight realized the man had a connection with Meg- he assumed she reminded him of someone he lost when he was taken. A daughter? Granddaughter, maybe? Whoever it was, Dwight knew Bill saw her in Meg. Maybe that was why he was so willing to run around like this when he should be resting. Dwight found it endearing.

”I don’t know how you’re able to deal with her energy, Claude. I think I’d die.” Jake said with a laugh. Claudette rolled her eyes.   
  


“Oh, be quiet. I don’t think David is much better, and I see the way you look at him.” 

Well, that was a development.

"Claudette!" Even from across the fire, Dwight could see the bright red blush on Jake's cheeks. Claudette chuckled, knowing that she had bested him. Dwight was smart enough to see Claudette and Meg being a thing, but Jake and David? He knew they were good friends, but boyfriends?

"When did this happen? Why did nobody tell me about this?" Dwight asked, a small smile on his face. He could definitely see it, now that he thought about it. Jake was more mellow compared to the aggressive David. He also knew that being around David made Jake more bold during trials, and being around Jake made David much calmer and laid back outside of trials. Plus, they were always together, when Jake wasn't with Claudette or they weren't in trials, like David currently was. Maybe Dwight was just oblivious.

"Dwight, someone could be head over heels for you and _tell you_ and you still wouldn't believe it." Claudette pointed out. She had a point, he supposed. 

"Nobody wants me like that anyway so it's fine." 

"Oh, Dweet..."

"No, no, do _not_ try and convince me someone here actually wants to date me, because I _know_ you're lying Jake, because I know how you operate at this point, and-"

"Okay! I get it!"

The group laughed and interrogated Jake about his potential relationship with David, to the point where he was comfortable talking about it. Of course, there would be certain sides to their relationship he wouldn't be willing to talk about, or certain points in their friendship that he wasn't ready to tell them, but for the most part, he was okay with telling them. Over time, the conversation shifted as others sat down and joined the conversation. Soon, it was Dwight, Claudette, Jake, Meg (who had returned with two toolboxes and an exhausted Bill- guess she won the bet.), Nea, David, and Feng. They were talking about their past relationships in general.

"You know, my parents used to tell me that I didn't know what love actually was, since I did long distance with my boyfriend." Feng explained, tugging on the sleeves of her pink bunny hoodie. "I said they're full of shit."

"Which they are! Tell 'em, kid!" Nea said with a laugh. "If you and your man were happy doing long distance and actually made it work, I'd call that love."

"We tried." She said with a sad laugh. The group knew better than to talk about it any more than that. She blinked a few times, then smiled and looked up at Dwight. "What about you, Dwight? You never told us about your girlfriend."

Dwight chuckled at her words. "I've never had one."

"Okay, that's a lil' embarrassing, Dwight." David said with a teasing nudge. Dwight rolled his eyes. 

"You haven't either."

"That's cause I like guys, Dwight."

Dwight sat there staring at him, an eyebrow raised. Meg was the first to realize it, and when she did she gasped.

"Oh my god you actually _are_ a twink-"

"Do _NOT_ -"

After that little comment, everyone else figured out what he meant. It was his turn to be interrogated then- his friends asked him about his past relationships, whether people accepted him before he was taken, things like that. He answered honestly, and while he didn't have the best support before he was taken, at least now he was surrounded by people like him or people that were allies. 

"Aye, just make sure you keep your hands off other people's property." David said, his words demanding but his tone playful.

"Hey, he's all yours." Dwight replied, shooting Jake a wink that made him go red all over again. 

It was times like this- where all his best friends were sat around the campfire, laughing and joking- that made him remember just how close the family they'd become really was. And while they had their disputes, they always got over them. Living in The Entity didn't give them much of a choice at first, but now they're all supportive. Sometimes, Dwight felt like something was missing, and after their conversations about love he realized that was it- he missed having a partner to protect. To me loved and cared for and to love and care for them in return. But now, those thoughts left his mind as he laughed along with some of his best friends. 

Though he was never getting out, he knew things would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> baby chapter, but i'm writing the fifth chapter tonight. i just wanted a break from all the murdering and dread and ways to write baby dweet getting caught in a bear trap, and i figured yall did too. a nice little wholesome chapter for character establishing reasons and a nice pallet cleanser before we get into some FUN SHIT next chapter
> 
> also a drinking game for dear leader, for you've been here the longest: take a drink every time you read the word aggressive because baby sticks, aka me, doesn't know how to use a fucking thesaurus every once and a while


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the plot thickens with this one gamers, i hope you enjoy !

The Entity was not kind to Dwight Fairfield, and it hasn't been since day one. He was the first survivor, and he was left cold, terrified and alone for what would've normally been weeks without human interaction. He had been screwed over by The Entity in trials over and over, from small things like hard to find hex totems, to having the hatch be hidden in the corner where he never would have seen it, and he was quickly thrown up on a hook for his searching troubles. It was clear The Entity had it against him. He just had to adapt to it.

And after a while, he did. He accepted the fact that this... _'divine'_ force wouldn't show him any kindness and wouldn't hesitate to beat him into the dirt. Maybe that was why he was declared the unspoken leader of the group. He was the first to realize it, and the first time to act in a trial and at least attempt to fix the generator despite having no prior knowledge on how to repair things, instead of sit on his ass and wait for his death. The Entity was not kind, but it was at least fair. And if it gave him a fighting chance, oh boy would Dwight fight.

Dwight had been documenting everything involving their recent trials. Whenever he could find anything to write with or on during trials, he would take it to use and he would write down everything weird happening, not only with the killers, but in the way The Entity itself was behaving. A killer allowing his friends to wiggle out of their arms only to smack them down again, and letting the process repeat as some twisted form of torture? The more 'silent' killers being more vocal in their groans of annoyance as they got pallet stunned? The Entity allowing certain items to be taken back to the campfire, even if they had died in the trial? Everything that could have been seen as slightly noteworthy was written down by Dwight, and he looked over the papers quite frequently.

He had talked to Tapp about it as well- the man was a detective, it used to be his job to look at evidence and come up with possible reasons or motives for things. While crime and an extraterrestrial being were very different, the process of compiling the evidence and analyzing it was the same. 

They had come to the conclusion that most killers were being more barbaric than they normally would because of the arrival of Pyramid Head and Cheryl, and that would explain why The Entity had been changing as well, but it didn't explain everything. 

"Didja hear what happened with Quent?" Tapp asked as Dwight was scribbling on a crumpled piece of paper. 

"Nope." He replied quickly, trying to write everything down before he forgot certain details of the last trial he was in. Tapp huffed.

"Really? Poor boy told everyone." He started, Dwight only half listening so he could finish his thoughts. When he finished he looked up, watching Tapp organize some papers that were on the table Jeff had made for them for their work. "Frank- apparently he's one of those Legion guys- he let him have the hatch a few trials ago." 

Dwight froze. His hands shook a little, but not enough for Tapp to be able to see from where he was across the table. 

"...He what?" His voice was low, almost like a whisper, and wavering. 

"Yeah, he said the guy looked at him and let him go. He thought it was a dream, but Yui said she saw it. She was mori'd and was still alive when he was given the hatch."

Dwight had been under the impression that he was the only one who was shown mercy by the killers. He thought that he was an exception, and outlier. Was this becoming a normal occurrence? Were there other survivors who had been given mercy, who were allowed to live, and stayed silent about it, just like Dwight had? He supposed it would make sense, but so far it was only The Trapper and The Legion. But even then, they didn't know if everyone in The Legion agreed with Frank giving him his escape. They all knew there were four people in The Legion, all with the same abilities- did they all agree with that decision? Do killers talk to other killers about this kind of thing?

"Oh, wow." Dwight tried to play off his silence by being stunned instead of comparing Quentin's experience with his own. "That's crazy... that's unheard of around here. I think I might go talk to him about it."

"Good luck finding him. He went out on a walk in the forest a little while ago, he hasn't come back yet." Dwight nodded and thanked the detective for letting him know. He set his papers on the table, where Tapp put them with the rest, before he set out into the woods. 

Dwight liked the silence in the woods. He didn't normally like things being silent anymore, that always lead to something bad happening, but when surrounded by the still trees, he enjoyed it. It also let him pick up on noises easier, since he was looking for someone. The trees were silent, there was no wind blowing through the air- you could hear a pin drop. But he still couldn't hear where the boy was. There were no twigs breaking, no leaves getting stepped on, no rocks being kicked, no dirt billowing up with each step. There was nothing.

Dwight wandered through the woods for a while, occasionally calling out Quent's name, but was always met with the silence again. Eventually he decided to give up and find him later, but he heard a rustle in the bushes next to him, He snapped his head over, his eyes squinting so he could see better. He could vaguely make out Quentin's form behind the bush, so he slowly walked over.

Well, he found Quentin, but not in the way he expected to. He was wearing someone's jacket, which was unzipped and exposed his stomach. As Dwight looked, there were bruises lining his chest going down from his neck. His hair was messier than normal, and his face was flushed a bright red. He looked like a mess as he laid on the ground. He tried to turn around, squealing a little in embarrassment, but Dwight had seen enough. As his mind caught up with his eyes, he realized the bruises weren't bruises, they were hickeys. And the jacket wasn't his, it was...

...was that The Legion's?

"Dw-Dwight! What are you doing?!" Quentin huffed, pulling the jacket further in on himself. Trying to hide the bites. 

"You were with The Legion?" Dwight asked. He tried to stay calm to not make the kid worry, but he couldn't hide his surprise in his voice. "How? You weren't in the trial, I-"

"Dwight, please-" Quentin sounded like he was crying, but he refused to look at him. Dwight took a deep breath and bent down a little.

"I'm not mad." 

"Yes you are."

"Quentin, I can't be mad at you when I'm going through the same thing."

His words seemed to make the boy calm down a little. It took him a minute, but eventually the boy turned around to face him. Dwight was right, there were tears in his eyes and a few seemed to spill down his face already. Dwight held his hand out, helping him up. Dwight zipped up the jacket for him, and tried to fix his hair to make it look the normal messy it usually was. He let the boy calm himself down before pressing the issue.

"...you were with The Legion. Right?" He asked. Quentin nodded and swallowed loudly.

"...With Frank, yeah." He muttered. Dwight nodded, trying to process what he was talking about. 

"...How?" 

"Tell me about your killer first." Quentin practically demanded. Dwight understood why, the kid was smart. He wanted to have this information in case Dwight wanted to expose him. Dwight sighed. It would be nice to finally talk about his experiences. 

"...The Trapper. Ironic, huh?" He started, and watched as Quentin didn't exactly look surprised. They were both here the longest. He supposed it made sense. "A while ago, he let me escape. He... He hesitates to hit me. The last time I saw him, he... He talked to me. Told me he... he spared me because he liked me. Because I was nice, and my friends weren't. He didn't like how they 'left me to die' every trial... I told everyone he let me go, but I didn't say how far it went beyond that one time. I've been trying to talk to him since, but I haven't been in any trials with him." Dwight explained, happy to finally talk about it. Quentin nodded in understanding.

"I think I can help with that." The boy said, talking Dwight's hand and leading him deeper into the forest. "The Entity, when you get further out in the forest... It acts weirdly. The Legion's map is Ormond, right? So I thought 'if I want to see Frank, I have to go to Ormond.' And eventually, as I walked... It got colder. I stepped into snow, and... there I was. At the motel."

That was knew. The Entity never behaved like that when he- when anyone- walked though the forest. It always spit them back out at the edge of the forest, back at the campsite. But He never wanted to go to a killer's place, he never wanted to get close to a killer if he didn't have to, until now. 

"So... what was The Trapper's place? He was the guy in the mines, right?" Dwight couldn't speak, he was still thinking about the new information on The Entity. He just nodded, and Quentin lead him further into the forest.

"So... go kick rocks. Think about that place, about him. You'll get there eventually. I need to go back to the campfire, so... Let me know how it goes." Was all he was left with. He guessed Quentin still felt awkward, getting caught after what seemed like having... an eventful time with Frank. Dwight couldn't bring himself to move for a while, just thinking about what he said. If it worked, would it work for every killer? Could ever survivor go to every map? It would make sense- Quentin came the same time Freddy did, not The Legion. Did it work everywhere in The Entity? Were the other places in The Entity they could travel to if they wanted? Could they escape The Entity and go home using that same process?

He decided to stop overthinking it. He couldn't come up with other possibilities until he knew for sure Quentin was right. So he swallowed his fears and walked, thinking of the broken down mine. Of the gloomy feeling he got when walking into the storehouse, the unbearable heat when running up the stairs of the coal tower. The safety feeling when realizing the killers shack had yet to be trapped. The gut-wrenching horror of realizing you were trapped in the basement, and there would be no way you were making it out alive.

Eventually, the grass under his feet grew longer. The clean air of the campsite was replaced by the smell of burning coal and soot. And as he passed the final layer of trees, there it was. The 'suffocation pit'... the destroyed mine shaft. Sitting outside was the man he was looking for- The Trapper. He was sitting at a table with a couple of tools thrown about it, and a bear trap sat in the middle. It was closed, and he seemed to be working on it. His usual coveralls were down, exposing his large, scarred chest. Dwight knew he had muscle before, but _fuck,_ actually looking at it made him seem so much larger. His mask was pushed to the side, where Dwight was able to make out his face. He had a bigger nose, which even from where he was could tell had a large scar over the bridge. He had a strong jawline, which led down to his big shoulders which he had been thrown on top of many times before. He was... huge.

Dwight had to grab broken chain link fence next to him in order to keep him planted, instead of booking it out of there. With a sigh, he took a step closer to the estate. To the killer. And then he took another. And another. He didn't seem to be alerted to Dwight's presence yet, so he walked to one of the pallets against the rocks and threw it down like he normally did. That made the killer instantly turn around, and stared at Dwight. The silence was long, almost awkward. Dwight was the one to break it. 

"It's been a while." He started, crawling over to the other side of the pallet. Closer to the killer. He figured if the man was aggressive, he could loop him around the pallet until he broke it and he could run away. But he also guessed if he was able to come to the killer's realm, the killer could come to the campfire. He didn't seem to be aggressive though, and even if he was, his cleaver was still on the table next to the trap. "Did you miss me?"

The killer huffed in response. Was that the fainest hint of a smile? Dwight couldn't tell. 

"I needed to talk to you." Dwight said finally, deciding to get to the point. "It's about... everything. The Trapper understood what he meant like that. He motioned for Dwight to come closer, and despite his fears, he did. He sat on a crate next to the table where The Trapper had been working. There were blueprints on the table, along with a couple random trinkets and add-ons scattered along it next to the tools. Probably for his next trial.

"I, uh... I just wanted to ask... about you... and me. Why you apparently... 'like me'? Sorry, I-" Dwight felt awkward asking about it. Like he shouldn't be here, or like asking those questions were wrong. "It was just eating at me. I needed answers. I'll leave as soon as I can, I promise."

There was a silence again, where Dwight looked at The Trapper's exposed face. He didn't even try to hide it. The Trapper seemed to consider Dwight's words, before responding with a quiet, "Then ask."

Dwight honestly didn't expect to make it this far. His mind raced with all the things he could ask, but his mouth spoke before his brain could stop him. "Why do you like me so much?"

Dwight felt uneasy in the silence that followed. It took The Trapper a long time to respond. With a sigh, he began to speak. 

"You were the first one here. You know I was the first one here." His voice didn't seem as broken or off as it did before. This time, it was deep, almost naturally husky. He wasn't exactly loud, but in the silence surrounding them, it felt like he was yelling. "I was... drawn to you. You were shy, you were afraid, yet they listened to you. They followed you like they were their leader. And at first I wanted to destroy you. Make them lose hope in you." Yikes, that stung a little. But he didn't dwell on it as the man kept talking. "But... you grew on me. Your glasses and your hair and your button down shirt and your doe eyes." 

Well, he certainly didn't expect that.

Dwight was left in a shocked silence. He didn’t know how to process it, but luckily the killer started talking before he had to respond.

”You... always risked yourself for your friends. I think after time I got tired of hearing you scream. Watching you die. So I stopped killing you.”

The two sat there in a silence for a while. The Trapper started working on his bear trap again, while Dwight tugged on his tie, which had become undone. Every time he fixed it, it came loose anyway. The Trapped noticed his fidgeting, and replaced his hand with his own. Dwight instinctively flinched away, but when he realized the man wasn’t trying to hurt him, he settled into the touch. Even his hands were much larger than his own.   
  


“...Off.” Was all he muttered, and Dwight knew what he needed to do. With his face flushed, he pulled the tie off and tossed it aside. The Trapper grinned. While Dwight wanted to ignore it, he actually thought the man was quite handsome. Especially when he smiled and wasn’t trying to kill him.

“Obedient, too. Good.”

”Okay, okay-“ Dwight looked away to ignore his embarrassment. The Traper huffed a laugh and kept working on the trap.   
  


“But my friends are nice, too. Why don’t you spare them?”

”I can’t save everyone. Don’t wanna piss off The Entity. You know how bad of an idea that is.” Dwight guessed he understood.   
  


“Of all people... you pick me.” Dwight said with an exasperated laugh. He would never understand it.   
  


“...you. Your name.” The Trapped glances at him out of the corner of his eye.   
  


“...I’m Dwight. Dwight Fairfield.”   
  


“Dwight... Dwight.” He spoke his name, like he was testing the way it came off his tongue. “Dwight. Evan.”   
  


Evan MacMillan, then. Dwight liked his name.

”I got a question for you, Dwight.” The Tra- _Evan_ started. “How did you get here?”

Dwight swallowed a lump in his throat. “A friend of mine needed to see a killer. He... manipulated The Entity, I guess. It’s weird.” Dwight went on about what he did to get there, and started to talk about his theories about why it happened. Maybe it was because a trial started at the same time and he tricked The Entity to take him away to The Trapper’s realm instead of the trial? Or maybe The Entity could be manipulated the further he went out inside it? But that implies that the campfire is the center of the Entity itself, and all of its otherworldly properties...   
  


Dwight stopped himself mid-sentence when he realized he was rambling. “Uh- I’m sorry.” He muttered, looking down into his lap. A large hand touched his shoulder- gentle. Almost kind. He could feel the callouses on them.   
  


“Go on.” He was given permission to keep talking. He rarely got time to talk about things like this- he knew nobody cared as much as he did. Of course his friends listened, but they didn't care as much as he did. Maybe The Trapper only cared because he wanted to manipulate The Entity himself and slaughter them all. Dwight couldn't find it in him to care. Someone _finally_ actually cared about what he had to say, and he had a _lot_ to talk about.

As Dwight rambled on, about his findings about The Entity over time, about how each killer reacted to the new arrivals, how he personally reacted over time trying to get used to the new killer, he felt a weight be lifted from his shoulders. The Trapper seemed interested, and though he was working on his trap, Dwight knew he was being listened to. 

Dwight didn't know how long he'd been talking, but eventually he stopped himself. "I must be talking your ear off. I... know you're busy." Dwight shuddered as he motioned to the bear trap. He could imagine how bad they hurt- it made him wince. The Trapper sighed a little.

"You're welcome to stay until I have to leave." He offered, and Dwight sat and considered it. 

"...what do you have to gain from that? From me being here?" Dwight asked, careful with his tone. The Trapper tapped his fingers against the table.

"...I already told you. I like you, Dwight." He said, the smallest smile on his lips. It made Dwight a little happier. "I know you don't trust me yet. You're afraid, and your friends will be looking for you. But I am more than happy having you stay."

His words made Dwight feel better. As Dwight started to speak, he felt the familiar pull in his chest. The pull of a trial.

"...I have to go."

"Trial?" Evan asked, watching Dwight's movements carefully. Dwight nodded. 

"I'm sorry." He muttered, sliding his body off the crate he was sitting on. The Trapper understood why he needed to leave- you can't just ignore a trial. 

"Don't apologize. Go." Dwight watched him reach out for his shoulder and flinched, but forced himself to relax. He could feel how careful the bigger man was being with him. "And feel free to come back."

Dwight nodded and jogged his way back from where he entered, and paused at the broken fence. He turned, and gave a small wave to the killer, who returned it. With a small grin, Dwight booked in back into the forest to make it to the trial. 

As he was running back to the camp, his mind caught up with itself as he realized what he just did. He spilled all his secrets, his info on himself and The Entity, to a killer. A killer that liked him, sure, but a killer nonetheless. But the guilt went away with each step as he ran. Nobody listened to him the way Evan just did. Nobody let him speak his mind for that long before getting bored and leaving. Nobody let him be a dork and go on and on about the topics he enjoyed the way Evan did. Maybe Dwight just wouldn't care anymore. He wouldn't tell anyone but Quentin, obviously, but nobody else needed to know about this. If The Trapper liked him enough to invite him back, then Dwight would come crawling back, he just had to teach himself not to care anymore.

God, he had a lot of writing to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trapper not being able to resist dwight's big doe eyes? a headcanon i love it


	6. Chapter 6

Dwight never liked going against The Huntress. Well, Dwight never liked going in a trial against anyone, but The Huntress was one he especially hated to go against. When she wasn't on point, it was fine. But when her hatchet throws were accurate, they were _scarily_ accurate. She could predict what you were going to do like it was nothing. Even the killers shack couldn't save you when she was accurate with her throws. Chases ended quickly and with a hook in your shoulder.

That was where Dwight was soon to be. He could hear her somewhere, walking around, humming her sweet lullaby Dwight knew like the back of his hand. She was still close, guarding the hooked Jeff like it was her job. Because it was. As soon as Dwight unhooked him, he knew a hatchet would come flying and hit one of them. He could see the auras of his fellow survivors though- Yui was across the map doing a gen and Jane was healing herself in another corner of the map. If Dwight didn't unhook him, nobody would. 

As soon as Dwight heard her lullaby get slightly quieter was when he unhooked him. Of course, as soon as he did, her humming only grew louder. His earlier prediction was right, too- a hatchet came hurling at them. Dwight, who was still holding onto Jeff's arms, forced the older man to stay in front of him in order to avoid the hatchet. Dwight collapsed as it went into his back and Jeff ran off further into the jungle gym behind them. Well, shit. That explained why Jeff's earlier chase ended must quicker than before- she had iridescent axe heads on her hatchets. Those hurt much worse.

Dwight was, luckily, only on his first hook. With two gens done, and another one about to pop, the game was turning out alright, despite her add-ons. For now, anyway. Dwight let himself fester in his agony as the singing from The Huntress grew louder. He refused to look up at her as she came near, and winced when she picked him up. In one practiced motion, she picked him up by his shirt and tossed him onto the hook like he was nothing. Dwight tried not to scream, but it was no use. The woman almost turned t walk about, bu she hesitated and looked back at Dwight. Her head tilted as she examined him sitting on the hook. Dwight felt like he was being analyzed, and even if a sharp, supernatural-like hook wasn't through his shoulder causing immense pain, he felt uncomfortable. Her head popped up a moment later, and she turned on her heel to chase after something. Dwight saw the lights appear over her head- Yui must've gotten the gen done. 

As the killer left, the feeling of being examined still stayed with him. It was unnerving, especially when she had no reason to watch him like that. If she was camping his hook, that would be one thing. But she wasn't, she just wanted to stare at him. She had never done that before. He didn't understand it, and it messed with him as he sat on the hook. Luckily, he didn't sit there long. Jeff must've stayed close when he got hooked. Dwight noticed he was patched up too, and he didn't bring a medkit into the trial. Claudette must've taught him.

"Hold still." Jeff muttered, and Dwight complied. He winced as practiced fingers stitched up the gash in his back. The Entity did its job and healed him almost instantly as well, and the two ran off to do a generator. 

Dwight was still shaken as the two got on the nearest generator. Dwight almost blew the gen up in his face a few times, and once he slipped and missed the skill check. Luckily, The Huntress was already in a chase and didn't bother to come after them. Dwight felt Jeff stare at him, but the younger man didn't dare look up to meet his eyes. Out of fear or pride, he would never know. 

The chase ended early, of course. Those iridescent heads were brutal, and The Huntress knew it. Jane was closer to the downed Yui, so they stayed on the gen. It was close to being done, but if she made a beeline for them as soon as she was hooked, they wouldn't be able to finish it on time. Dwight knew sitting behind one of the front desks of the Ormond Hotel was the basement too- as soon as they heard that lullaby, they needed to go. 

Which was exactly what happened. Yui was hooked- it was only her first, thank god- and the two heard her lullaby get louder. Jeff took off out the door, while Dwight took refuge in one of the lockers. He hated hiding in lockers against The Huntress. Against almost all o the killers, they never needed to check the lockers, except for her. She could find you when she wasn't even looking for you. 

Dwight heard her come close and just forced himself to hold his breath. She came in and looked around, spotting some scratch marks Jeff left behind. She kicked the gen before taking off in his general direction, and Dwight was thankful she had three hatchets left. When Dwight knew she was dedicated to finding Jeff, he hopped out of the locker and got to work on the gen again. 

Jeff was downed again after a short while. Dwight felt bad- he knew if he'd been focused and tried not to worry about The Huntress' prying eyes, they wouldn't have been caught and Jeff wouldn't be on his second hook. But the past is the past, and Dwight would just unhook him again. At least he was able to get the generator completed. 

That was his plan, anyway. Dwight knew the frigid air of the resort wasn't right, something was hidden that The Entity refused to tell them. Dwight understood as he heard Jeff die in the distance- she'd brought a mori. Dwight hoped it was an ivory, but nobody brought those anymore. He had to be careful the rest of the trial. Mori's were never fun.

Dwight hoped Jane and Yui were off doing a gen somewhere- she'd been unhooked while Jeff was getting mori'd. Dwight took the time to be careful and evaluate his next move. There was a generator behind them that he heard her kick. He figured he could get on that gen once she left, but he had to be very careful to avoid being spotted. He _could_ run off and work on another random generator, but that was what she would expect them to do, instead of stick around where Jeff got killed. Dwight got in a locker on the lower floor and watched through the slits on the top as she ran off. Dwight carefully got himself out and ran to that gen, hesitating a little as he ran past Jeff's body. He'd have to apologize to him later. 

Dwight did the right thing, hopping on that close gen. In the distance he heard Jane scream and go down, followed by Yui. Them must've been together. At least Jane was on her first hook, but he knew Yui was getting mori'd. And he was right, because he heard the ringing of The Entity letting him know another survivor was dead. He considered staying on the gen until it was completed before saving Jane. It could've worked, since she wouldn't need to worry about not being able to be hooked a second time if he waited too long. She wasn't getting hooked a second time anyway.

But the good part of Dwight's mind told him to go after her, so that was what he did. As he ran towards where she screamed, he passed by the hatch beside a barrel by one of the exit gates. He's have to remember that. Hopefully they wouldn't need to use it. 

Dwight hesitated to go for the unhook. He could still hear her close by, and if she aimed her hatchet well enough, one of them was dying. But he knew where the hatch was, so at least one of them would still survive if that happened. He ran up to her and hoped for the best.

"To your left, beside the exit gate is the hatch in case you-" Dwight started to talk as he gently moved her from the hook, but he heard a hatched flying at them. He held his breath and pushed Jane out of the way, but making him take the hit. He was fine with that.

He could tell that Jane wanted to stay behind and help, but there would be no use. She swallowed loudly and ran to the direction of the hatch. At least she was escaping, but he couldn't say the same for himself. 

As The Huntress approached, he turned onto his back, despite the searing pain from the hatchet throws. He stared at her feet, waiting for her to stick the axe in his face and kill him already, but the blow didn't come yet. He still refused to look up.

"Boy." Her voice was booming, and was thick with a Russian accent. Dwight had heard her speak before- she was one of the more vocal killers- but she had never openly addressed him. He looked up out of fear of what would happen if he didn't. She crouched down next to him, her knees cracking as she got down. "Are you the one dear Evan fawns over?"

Dwight tried to let more air enter his lungs, but he was already holding his breath. Everything felt uncomfortable. The way the blood trickled down his back, the sweat that pooled in his hair, the cold snow on his arms and legs that chilled him more than The Huntress' words already did. But what was he supposed to do, _lie_ to the woman with the axe in her hand? Despite what his logical thinking told him to, he followed his gut and nodded. The woman huffed- was that amusement in her tone? Or annoyance? Dwight couldn't tell with the mask covering her face.

"Oh, dear. I was afraid I'd have to deal with you. Tell him to forgive me, will you, Mister Dwight?" She ended her sentence by raising her axe, and Dwight braced himself for impact.

When he woke up, he was laid down on his stomach, with Meg's soft hands working on the gash on his back.

He groaned and gave his best attempt at a wave to let her know he was awake, and she snorted. She didn't speak for a while, she just kept stitching up his back in a comfortable silence. Eventually, she removed her hands and pulled his shirt down.

"A'ight, you're done. Can you walk alright?" She asked, worry on her face and in her voice. Dwight's legs shook as he stood and he had to balance himself, but he was able to walk fine enough. The Entity never seemed to test a recently mori'd survivor though. It seemed to know when they physically weren't able to work in a trial and gave them time to heal, for at least one trial as a break. Dwight always appreciated the confirmed down time, despite the brutal death that comes before it.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Did Jane get out?"

"Yep. Said you told her where the hatch was when you unhooked her. You ever just wanna save your own ass for once?" She was almost scolding him, but he knew she meant no harm. He laughed a little, and tried to ignore the pain that followed.

"You know better than most that I'd let myself die a million times to save all of you."

"Yeah, we know. No wonder you never get outta trials alive. Now go rest- knowin' your luck, you'll get stuck with the next trial."

"Oh, don't I know it." Dwight walked off and waved, smiling at the young woman as he walked away. As soon as his head turned though, his smile faded away and his mind started to race. The Huntress' words replayed in his mind over and over. _'Are you the one dear Evan fawns over?'_

That meant other killers were aware of what was happening between him and The Trapper. Maybe they were more perceptive than his fellow survivors and figured it out. Or maybe he told them? But Dwight had noticed he didn't like to speak unless he had to, so that wasn't as likely. Was she good friends with The Trapper? She called him 'dear Evan', so that might've been the case... but she also knew his name. Dwight _only_ told Evan his name, so that meant that the killer had told her at least a little of their friendship. 

Dwight took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He looked around the campfire, and around the trees scattered around, and eventually found who he was looking for- Quentin, who was asleep against a tree. Dwight walked over and crouched down beside him, gently shaking him awake. He felt bad for waking him up, but the poor boy was always asleep as it was. He'd probably fall asleep again later.

"Huh...?" Quentin wiped his eyes, and relaxed a little when he saw Dwight's blurry outline. "Oh... hi, Dwight."

"Can I talk to you about something? It's important." Quentin sat up straight and nodded, clearly paying more attention now that Dwight told him it was something serious.

"Uh, yeah, sure. What did you need?"

"It's about the last trial. Can I sit?" Dwight plopped himself down when he was given permission to do so. "We were against The Huntress, and she mori'd me. Wonderful experience. But she said some weird things before she killed me, and I don't know what to think." Dwight swallowed the lump building in his throat. "She... she asked if I was 'the one dear Evan fawns over'. That's The Trapper. And, she knew my name, which I _only_ told Evan, which means _he_ is telling other killers about us, and... I don't know, is that what Frank does? Because I'm worried about it all, and-"

"Dwight, calm down. You're gonna start spiraling if you don't." Quentin patted his shoulder and let the older man calm down. God, Dwight felt like a teenager again, telling his friends about petty drama. "I know as much as you do about the killers and what they do in between trials. Maybe they hang out together like we do. All I know is that Frank only told Susie, Joey and Julie. They're the others in The Legion."

Well, that didn't reassure Dwight much. "...okay. Okay. Thank you, I just needed someone to talk to about it. I was panicking."

"I noticed."

"Wow." Dwight laughed and the teen smiled. It was nice to see his friends happy, if only for a moment. "You should go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you up." Dwight stood, his legs shaky at first. Quentin had already closed his eyes again.

"M'kay," was all the boy could choke out before falling asleep again. It made Dwight chuckle- he was already asleep. 

Dwight walked back to the campfire where he sat next to Meg and Cheryl. They all talked, and he tried to take his mind off of what had just happened. He tried to reassure himself that it was only a trial, that he'd be fine and nothing bad would come from all of this.

His gut told him to run. This time, he didn't listen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m sorry if there’s a lot of typos this chapter !! the past couple chapters haven’t been edited, i’m usually writing these late at night so i tell myself “i’ll edit in the morning” and i dOnt,,, so if it’s distracting i apologize! 
> 
> with that out of the way, i hope you enjoy!

Dwight had started to spend more time with The Trapper than he did back at the campsite.

He tried to convince himself that he wanted to test if The Huntress was telling the truth and that Evan doesn't actually 'fawn over him', but in the back of his mind he knew he kept running back to him because he enjoyed his company. He was there now, waiting for him to return from his trial. In the meantime, he had been organizing things on the tables scattered around the storehouse. He noticed that The Trapper was very tidy with his things when he wasn't using them, but his tables were cluttered full of tools and materials. Dwight figured if he was going to be hanging around, he might as well help him tidy up.

As he was putting some things away, he heard the thumping of his footsteps walk into the storehouse. Dwight could always tell when he was approaching because of his walk alone. He was so loud with his steps, but he supposed that was to be expected with a man that large. Dwight turned around and offered the man a small smile, trying to ignore the bloody mask that greeted him. Luckily, Evan took it off and set it aside so he didn't have to look at it for long.

"You waited for me." The older man said with a smile. Dwight nodded, looking down at the table he was in the process of organizing.

"I did. It was lonely without you." He admitted, trying to ignore the man's gaze. He knew what face he was making and wasn't ready for the embarrassment of looking at it. Instead, he just reveled in the man's soft laugh.

"I wouldn't leave you for long." His words made Dwight smile again. He watched as he unclipped his bloodied coveralls. Considering there was... a _lot_ of blood, he must've had a pretty successful trial. Dwight didn't know if he should be proud of him or disgusted. Maybe both.

"You're all messy." Dwight acknowledged, looking the man up and down. There was blood everywhere his coveralls weren't. His hands were especially bad, but that was top be expected, he supposed. He turned around and picked up one of the many rags the killer had thrown about his workspace. Dwight noticed he used them to wipe his sweat when he was working, but this wasn't much different. "Hold still."

Dwight carefully took one of the man's hands and started to wipe them down. He could feel his stare as he worked, but he was already doing it, so he wasn't going to stop. He got most of the blood off one hand before he switched to the other and repeated the process. The two didn't exchange a word, but there was no reason to. Dwight worked in a comfortable silence as he cleaned the man up. The rag was mostly dirty when he was done with it, so it was no use to him anymore. When Dwight looked up to finally meet The Trapper's eyes, there was a speckle of blood on his cheek. He didn't know how, considering he wore a mask.

"Oh- come here." Dwight, being significantly shorter than The Trapper, stood on his tip toes and grabbed the killer by the neck, pulling him down a little so he could wipe his face with his thumb. Dwight tried to ignore the size difference between them, but it was hard when he had to look up to speak to him, and this was no help. His hands looked small on his neck, and on his shoulders as he brought them down when he was finished. His arms were huge too- bulky. Strong. Could easily hold Dwight in place, if his bear traps didn't do that for him.

"There. That's a little better." Dwight nodded, satisfied with his work. It was then he noticed the faintest color on The Trapper's cheeks along with his smile. The reality of what he just did- practically baby the killer and rush to clean him- pretty much hit him like a truck soon after. His face went red and he looked away. "Sorry, that was, uh... uncalled for, anyway-"

"Thank you, Dwight." The man's words reassured him a little, but he was still embarrassed by his actions. He had a tendency to do that- he'd do something on instinct and his brain will catch up layer and realize what he's doing. Usually what he's doing is food a good cause, so it's fine. Usually.

"Yeah." Dwight muttered, still a little embarrassed. He pushed himself up on top of another crate and watched his legs swing above the ground. The Trapper huffed a laugh.

"I can make you a chair, Dwight."

"I know, I know." Dwight fiddled with his hands, giving himself something to do. "But this way, I can see you better."

"You want to look at me?" 

Dwight's face flushed. He didn't expect the man to just come out and say it. And when he said it like that, it made it seem... wrong. Wrong to want to look at him, but the man wasn't exactly bad to look at. Dwight felt wrong for thinking that too, but he ignored it.

"Well... yeah. You're nice to look at." Dwight admitted. 

"You ain't too bad yourself, Dwight."

"Now you're just trying to flatter me."

Dwight assumed The Trapper was at least somewhat aware of his self-worth issues. Being a nobody for twenty-eight years of your life and then being the first sacrifice to The Entity does that to a person. Even still, he didn't exactly think highly of himself before being trapped in The Entity. He had two boyfriends in his time, and he was dumped twice for someone much better than him. His few friends before he was taken used to tell him that they didn't deserve him anyway. He never believed them.

Maybe that explained why he was the way he was. Why he was so willing to sacrifice himself despite knowing his friends would still be alive at the end of the trial. He just wanted people to like him. To be loyal to him. If that meant he was a doormat, or was a people pleaser to the point where he had to inconvenience himself to make others happy, that was fine by him. It was pathetic, when he thought about it. But he thought that he was pathetic himself, so that was fine.

"I'm not lying. Look at you."

"Evan, I have to look at myself every day. Trust me, it's not something I like to see."

"It's something _I_ like to see. I want to see you more..." Evan trailed off for a moment. "More of you."

Dwight's face went bright red at his words. He looked up at him, his eyes wide and glossy. He was starting to realize he was pulling that look a lot more lately. He secretly knew the man loved it when he did his doe eyes. To add to the look, he tilted his head just a little. While he'd never admit it, the darker side of his mind wanted to watch Evan _melt_ when he gave him that look.

Dwight watched the man's breath hitch in his throat, and he knew he'd gotten the reaction he wanted. Dwight could be a tease if he really tried, like now. Usually he didn't have the confidence to do anything like this, but hey, what was Evan gonna do? Kill him? How original. Evan took a step closer to Dwight, and it made Dwight further realize how much _bigger_ the man was. He completely towered over Dwight, and it almost made him... excited. 

"What?" Dwight asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. As if he hadn't planned that. The man above him almost growled in response, and it made Dwight shudder. The rational part of his brain told him to stop. That it was wrong to feel excited over a killer reacting this way towards him. He hadn't been listening to the rational part of his brain much, lately.

"Don't play with me, boy." The man quickly reached for Dwight's tie, and to both of their surprise, Dwight didn't flinch at the movement. He let the man grab him and tug upwards, forcing Dwight to look up. Allowing Evan to see his flushed face. "You know I'll win."

"We'll have to test that theory sometime." Dwight reveled in the shocked look on The Trapper's face as he said that. The bigger man let him go, and he relaxed into the crate. He wanted to choke down the whine that escaped his lips, but he was too late. Evan laughed.

"Sometime doesn't mean now. I'll let you wait." Well, so much for Dwight being the tease around here. Dwight huffed, but figured if he didn't argue, things would turn out better for him. Instead he just huffed and swayed his feet again.

"Okay, okay." Did he try and sound a little disappointing? Yes. Did it work? Of course not! Evan had a brain, he knew what he was trying to do. 

The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Dwight allowed himself to relax and calm himself down after that little encounter, and he assumed Evan needed to do the same. He'd hoped he needed to, anyway. Dwight would be lying if he said all of his thoughts about the man were innocent. Granted, how were they supposed to be innocent when he was a killer? Even if he wasn't a killer either, it was hard to blame Dwight for thinking like that. Unlike Jake and David or Claudette and Meg (though he doubted the girls' relationship went much farther than a kiss, knowing Claudette), or even Quentin and Frank, he didn't exactly have an outlet for his impure thoughts. 

And, of course, he could simply deal with it himself, but did he really have time for that? When he wasn't being brutally slaughtered, he was doing his research on The Entity, the killers, the places they were sent to, or even just talking with his friends. The time to sit in his little hut and beat off wasn't exactly plentiful. If it was, sure, he'd do it. But in the time he's been stuck in The Entity, he's been too tired, too scared, or too injured to consider it. No wonder he's been so pent up and just _horny_ lately, he hasn't done anything in four years and now he's getting close with someone he's attracted to. And, by the way he was acting, Evan seemed to be attracted to him as well.

Dwight swallowed and forced himself to stop thinking about that. He didn't need to think about why he never jacked it since he was taken. Instead, he tried to think about literally anything else, and his mind just went back to the man polishing a trap beside him. 

"...why do you use bear traps, anyway?" He asked instead of letting his imagination wonder. After all, Evan was seemingly a miner of sorts, not a hunter. Yes, there were the woods leading up to the entrance of the estate, but the facility and trail leading up to it were all fenced off, so bear traps would be an unnecessary expense. 

"Your prey can't run away from you if their leg is mangled." 

"Well, yeah, I know that. Not from personal experience or anything." The look that Evan gave him made him giggle a little bit. Fucking _giggle._ Lord help him. "But you've always used them, even at the very beginning. That implies you've used them before, outside of the trials, so... why?"

The Trapper seemed to acknowledge his point, but he hesitated to speak. Dwight was going to say he didn't need to tell him if he didn't want, but Evan started to speak before he could. "My father and I were not nice people. We didn't want our workers to leave us, so when they did..." The man slipped his hand inside the trap on the table and set it off, making Dwight jump. Luckily, he removed his hand before it closed on him. Just like the survivors did. His message was loud and clear to Dwight. "Once one or two miners came hobbling back with a bloodied leg, they thought twice about leaving us. Which was exactly what we wanted."

Dwight didn't exactly understand his motive. "But... they would have to leave eventually. Not because they quit or anything, but just in general. They had to go home eventually."

"We knew that, but my father... didn't like that. He wanted them to be at the factory at all times, constantly working. He made me set the bear traps. He made me dispose of the bodies of the miners who were too sick and weak to work. I was forced to grow to enjoy it. I'm as bad as he is, but at least you come back when you die."

Dwight stayed silent for a while, thinking about what the man said. He didn't want to make assumptions, but... "You grew up in an abusive household." 

"Maybe." His response was quick. Like he was expecting Dwight to say that. "My father wasn't nice to me, and I'm not nice to other people. My father was a killer and so am I. Apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, huh?"

"I suppose not. But you never had to be."

"But this is who I am, Dwight." The shift in his tone told Dwight to drop the subject, and so he did. He forced himself to talk about anything else, and his eyes drifted to the blueprints on the table. He saw it when he was organizing, but the art of the trap was signed by Evan.

"You draw your own blueprints?" He started, trying to sound nicer. That made Evan smile just a little.

"Yes. I used to draw quite a bit when I was younger. Never got too good at it, but I can understand my own blueprints just fine." There was passion in Evan's voice, a passion Dwight had rarely heard. He never spoke like this, unless he was talking about trials, but that was rare. Evan respected the fact that he was still murdering his friends, so he tried his best to avoid talking about it. This was something Dwight wanted to hear more about, though.

"I have paper back at the campsite. I can bring some back with me next time, if you want. So you can draw more."

"Oh no, that's alright. I haven't drawn in years, there's no need."

"Well, the offer still stands if you ever want to. What did you draw, before all of this?"

Evan paused his work to talk about the art he used to make. Simple sketches of anything he could find. Flowers, buildings, but his favorite was to draw people. Buildings and flowers got repetitive. They looked the same. People were so diverse. He drew his 'friends' mostly, since they were the ones who complimented his work. Until they ratted him out, but Evan didn't swell on that fact long. He said he enjoyed drawing anyone he saw and could look at long enough to draw them properly. Stockier men, petite women, little boys and girls- whoever was working there probably got a drawing of them done once or twice.

Dwight couldn't ignore the passion in his voice when he talked. He seemed to enjoy reminiscing about his life before The Entity, whether that was in a toxic environment or not. Dwight figured he would bring him some paper next time he visited anyway. It would be hard not to bring it considering how passionate he was about his art. 

"I'll draw you next, perhaps." Evan said with a small, pleased sigh. He went back to work on the bear trap, ignoring the surprise on Dwight's face. 

"Well, if you ever did, I'd love to see it. Just do me some justice."

"I'll make you look stunning, no matter what I draw you wearing."

"Draw me in nothing."

"Patience, Dwight."

They both wanted it. It radiated off of both of them, the yearning of the other's touch that lasted longer than a moment. The feeling of the other's lips, the noises they made when they were touched somewhere sensitive, the body heat they gave off when they were too close. It didn't even need to be sexual, they both just craved the other's touch but were too afraid to give it. It drove Dwight crazy.

Maybe things were moving too fast between them. Even if it had been a few weeks since they started this whole charade and they were good friends now, maybe it was too soon to start a relationship. No matter how much Dwight wanted to be cared for, or as The Huntress put it, 'fawned over', maybe it was too early. But, speaking of The Huntress...

"The Huntress said something interesting to me the other day." He started, looking over at him. Batting his eyes a little when the killer met his gaze. "She asked me, 'are you the one dear Evan fawns over?' I didn't know you fawned over me, Evan."

A tint of red rose up the killer's neck and to his cheeks. "I don't fawn over you. I just like talking to you."

"And about me, apparently. She knew my name, which means you told her about me."

"Maybe I did. It's hard not to talk about you. You're putty in my hands." His words and his tone threw him off a little, but Dwight swallowed the growing lump in his throat so he could speak.

”Are you sure it’s not the other way around?”

”I’m quite sure, Dwight.”

”Come prove it, then.”

The Trapper seemed to consider his offer. He’s been teasing him this whole time, taunting him. Seeing how far he could push before the man caved and did something, and now was that time, apparently. Evan set his wrench down and picked up Dwight from his spot on the crate. Dwight practically yelped and wrapped his arms around his neck and his legs around what was supposed to be a normal person’s waist, but was just the bottom of his torso. The man carried him to the nearest wall and pushed him against it, keeping him pinned between the wall and his body. Dwight was nervous to look him in the eyes but was too captivated to look away.

The two stayed like that, for just a moment, before the man brought a hand into Dwight’s hair and tugged it back a little. Despite the roughness of his actions before, his hands were gentle in his hair, and the tugging was only enough for Dwight to understand what he wanted, so he tilted his head back. Like he was afraid of hurting him. That didn’t stop the man from leaning down and biting on Dwight’s neck, making him squirm in his arms.   
  


He bit his lip to choke back a whimper, letting the man do as he pleased. He didn’t even struggle to hold him, like Dwight was petite and small in his arms. It’s not that Dwight was underweight either, far from it. Jesus, his strong was he?  
  


When Evan was done leaving his mark, he gently let Dwight go, letting the man find the floor and steady himself before pulling away. He stared at the bite on his neck, like he was admiring his work. His gaze shifted up, to Dwight’s bright red face, his bottom lip still in his mouth. The man grinned.

”There. Now be good for me, understand?”

Dwight nodded, running his hands along the mark on his neck. It was hot, still wet, and Dwight loved it. Did he have any way of hiding it? Not really, but he also didn’t care.   
  


He ran back up to his crate, sitting on it again, fidgeting with his tie. It was a habit when he was nervous. He did it the first time around Evan, and the man took advantage of his position and ordered him around. Now, that was exactly what Dwight wanted.   
  


“You keep tugging on that like it’s a leash and collar.”

”Why don’t you come make it one?”

”What’s gotten into you today, hmm?” The Trapped hadn’t even gotten to work on his trap again before he was shifting his attention to Dwight, taking his tie into his large hands.   
  


“It’s hard to stay sweet and innocent around you. Not when you’re...” He let himself trail off as the man gently tugged on the tie. Dwight gasped quietly, and he pinched his wrist to get himself to stop.

”When I’m what, Dwight?”

Dwight swallowed. “When you’re that big and I’m so small. You could make a mess of me.”   
  


He watched as his words had an affect on The Trapper. His face went a shade darker, his eyes soon following. The grip on his tie got tighter, but something else was gripping at his chest. God dammit, are you serious-

“How about you split me in half later...” Dwight put his hand over The Trapper’s, pushing it away. “When I come back from this trial?”

”If you win I’ll give you a prize.”

”Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we love sexual tension in this house and we love CONSENT in this house !! y’all best believe we’re gonna get CONSENT 
> 
> also prepare for the next few chapters because hahA they’re gonna be a fun ride. sorry to all the cheryl stans


	8. Chapter 8

Dwight returned to the campfire quickly, and was soon drawn into a trial. Rotten Fields, of course. He was getting this map a lot lately. At least it was big, and had enough pallets on it to save his ass if he was quick enough. Plus, it was always fun to hide in the corn and watch the killer wander aimlessly looking for him. That was beside the point.

He spawned in next to Kate, and the two got on the closest generator immediately. They heard screaming from a ways away- it must've been The Doctor. Great, now Dwight was going to have a migraine all trial. He tried not to worry about that now, and instead just focused on repairing the generator in front of him. Kate worked diligently and so was he, so while The Doctor was distracted, they were able to get the generator done. Not long after, someone got downed. Judging by the scream, he guessed it was Ash.

Kate ran off, probably to do another gen, and Dwight decided to do the same. He assumed that the other survivor was closer to Ash than he was, so it would make more sense for him to hop on a gen and get that done. He decided to repair one of the generators in the middle of all the corn. That way, he could either complete that gen and make it harder for the killer to find them later on, or he would get the killer to chase him and let someone else unhook Ash. The Doctor sent out a large static blast which made him scream, and he knew the killer would be on his way soon. He didn't care, though- he wanted to get more progress on the generator before running away. And he was right, soon enough he heard his heartbeat thumping in his ears. He saw the man approaching, so he pried himself away from the gen and ran off, letting the killer follow him.

The chase was rather long for Dwight. He wasn't the best at looping killers like Nea and Meg, but he also wasn't good at hiding from them like Claudette and Jake. Wearing a white button down didn't help him stay hidden either, but that didn't bother him much. The Doctor managed to put him into such bad madness, he was seeing hallucinations everywhere. His screaming gave away his position too, but he couldn't help it. Despite all of that, he was able to run the man around long enough so Ash got unhooked and another gen got completed. He was a little proud of himself. 

But on the hook he went, and he screamed as he was impaled. Nothing could describe the way it felt when you were put on a hook. According to Bill, it didn't feel like a bullet. David said it was nothing like being stabbed either. They both agreed that it was much, much worse than any of that. It was like The Entity was sucking you dry of your soul every time you were put on that hook, and that hurt more than any bullet or knife could ever do. 

Dwight whimpered as he sat on the hook, watching The Doctor run away. He sent out another static blast, but this time it hit two people. Two girls, so Kate and someone else. He didn't recognize the scream, so... was that Cheryl? No matter who it was, he was after one of them, letting someone unhook him, if they were quick enough. He hoped Ash was sitting on a generator right now, because nobody else was, apparently. Kate came running to his rescue, though he could barely see her in all the corn. She picked him up and they both went running, hearing a cry from Cheryl in the distance.   
  


“C’mere.” Kate commanded in a hushed whisper. They were crouched behind a bale of hay, so luckily the killer wouldn’t be able to see them. Dwight pulled up his shirt to reveal the gashes spread along his back. Kate got to work stitching them up with a practiced ease, and Dwight felt them heal together thanks to The Entity. 

“I’mma go work on the gen with Ash. You good by yourself?” She asked, standing up. Dwight heard her back crack as she stood.

”Yeah, I’ll be fine. Go.” With that simple exchange the two parted ways. Dwight returned to the generator he was on before, but not too long after, Cheryl was downed. She was a decent way away, but he was the closest to her. He supposed he was on savior duty. His instincts told him to work on the gen first, and at least get that middle gen done before getting the unhook, but the rational part of his brain took over. If he finished the gen, Cheryl would already be struggling on her hook. Two hooks was much worse than three, so he pried himself away from it. He made sure to stay away from The Doctor though, at least for a little while so he could avoid the static blast that erupted along the ground. He just barely avoided it, but that was enough to keep his position hidden. The killer ran off, and as he was running towards Cheryl, the generator Kate and Ash were working on exploded. He assumed that would be where the killer was headed, so he had an easy unhook.   
  


He held her still after unhooking her and bandaged her up as best as he could. Dwight was unsure if he was close enough to come back after them, or if he decided to dedicate himself towards hitting Kate and Ash on the gen. Given he could hear his heartbeat get louder, he assumed it was the former. He let her go and he ran off, allowing Cheryl to hide while The Doctor chased him.   
  


It was another ‘successful’ chase, according to Dwight. While he eventually got downed again, Kate and Ash finished their gen and he assumed Cheryl was finishing one herself. That was hopefully close to four gens completed, and the middle generator was at least halfway repaired.   
  


He wished he was as resourceful as Laurie, though. She was able to attack killers and escape their grasp using anything she could find, as long as she could actually use something and land a hit. Dwight got downed quite a bit, so a skill like that could be very useful to him. He supposed he shouldn’t worry about that now, when another hook was going through his shoulder.   
  


Dwight struggled against the long tendrils belonging to The Entity, but he could hear another generator getting finished. That was good, only one left. Kate came running to his rescue once again, but Dwight could see The Doctor was behind her. Not close enough to land a hit just yet, but soon. Especially if he hesitated to pick him up.

Luckily for Dwight, she stood where The Doctor would most likely hit her instead of the already injured Dwight. He was taken off the hook once again, and the pair ran off in different directions. The killer chose to chase after Kate, and Dwight winced every time he heard her scream in madness. At least he had time to get away. Kate hadn't been hooked yet either, and Dwight would be on his last. 

Of course, he ran his way back to his middle generator. Another gen popped in the distance, and Dwight's was close to getting completed. This game was looking good for them. Hopefully they all could escape. Kate managed to run him around enough to lose interest, so he sent out another static blast. All four of them cried out- they must be close. Luckily he wasn't after Dwight, so he was able to repair his gen. He waited to fully repair it when he heard Ash get downed, though. If he had certain perks, finishing that gen and powering the gates could be a horrible idea. 

So Dwight sat and waited for someone to unhook Ash before repairing his gen fully. He was hoping he didn't have No One Escapes Death, because god did he hate that hex. He probably hated it more than Ruin. You can learn to deal with Ruin, and hit your skill checks perfectly, but you can't learn how to avoid getting hit down instantly. 

Dwight made a dash for the door opposite of where Ash was unhooked. He assumed The Doctor would patrol that door, since it was much closer. Cheryl was already sitting there opening the door, so he had a moment to stop and look around. As he heard his heartbeat in his ears though, he knew he made a mistake in his judgement. Cheryl heard it too, and the door wasn't close enough to getting opened. With one heaving sigh, they both booked it away from the door, narrowly avoiding a shock from The Doctor. 

Cheryl stayed behind Dwight, knowing he was injured and she wasn't. The man caught up after a while and hit Cheryl, who sprinted ahead of him. They could see the opened Exit Gate in front of them, but his moment of hope was paused when he saw a hallucination from The Doctor. That wasn't new in itself, but the person in front of them certainly was. 

"Who's that?" The killer asked, laughing his high-pitched laugh afterwards. Cheryl inhaled sharply upon seeing the woman, and her running faltered enough for Dwight to catch up.

"You gotta keep running! She's not real, we gotta-"

He was cut off when Cheryl grabbed his shoulders and tossed him into the hallucination. Of course, he just phased right through it, but he tumbled onto the ground while she ran off. Dwight was smacked down by the killer, who laughed above him. Dwight laid there in shock.

Cheryl didn't say a word as he was picked up and carried to a hook. His final hook, too. If she hadn't done that, they all would've survived. He wouldn't have been close enough to hit one of them on the way out. Why did she do that? Cheryl didn't say a word as she ran out the gates and to safety, where he was being dragged to his death. Dwight struggled, but eventually he was placed on the hook for the third time. And he was furious about it.

When Dwight returned to the campsite, Cheryl ran up to him with tears in her eyes. Most everyone was sat around the fire, watching Dwight as he returned. He had clearly missed something as he was being revived and sent back to the fire. Despite her watery eyes, Dwight didn't feel anything but fury.

"Dwight, I'm so sorry, she was from my past, I-"

"I don't want to fucking hear it." Dwight's tone was stern, and much louder than normal. Everyone could see how pissed off he was, and it was rare when they saw him in such a bad mood. "I don't care how sorry you are. I don't care who that lady was. You can't throw someone to their death and expect them to forgive you because you said sorry. Sorry doesn't fucking cut it, Cheryl. We could have escaped. You had no reason to toss me aside and sacrifice me, but you went and did it anyway. How do you expect me to forgive you?"

Cheryl hiccuped, a few tears strolling down her cheeks. Dwight didn't care. "I'm _traumatized,_ Dwight! What did you expect me to do? Run into her? I know I messed up, but I swear I-"

"I don't give a fuck, Cheryl! We both could have survived, but you wanted to be greedy and ensure your survival over mine. We all have trauma here, Cheryl. It doesn't excuse you for being a bitch and killing me on purpose." Dwight was yelling now, but he didn't care. She seemed to curl into herself, like she was trying to hide behind nothing. "I'm taking a walk."

Dwight ignored the stares from everyone else around them. He ignored Cheryl's soft cries as he headed into the forest. He didn't care enough. He knew he was right, she had no reason to throw him to his death. He was angry beyond belief, and right now he needed Evan. He needed Evan to hold him as he told the story, he needed Evan to calm him down and help him with his anger, he needed Evan to reassure him and tell him he was alright.

Dwight quickly returned to the storehouse, where Evan was sitting waiting for him. The man was instantly able to tell something was wrong. He'd never seen Dwight angry before. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Dwight just walked up to him and buried his head in his chest for a moment. He sighed, letting himself relax. The Trapper was hesitant, but he slowly wrapped his arms around the younger male. He probably wasn't used to this, considering his home life wasn't exactly the greatest, apparently. Dwight stayed there for a while, not saying anything. He let himself calm down, and relax into Evan's warm hands holding him close and playing with his hair. He could slowly feel his anger slip away.

Dwight didn't know how much time had passed when he pulled away. All he knew is he was calm enough now to not explode on Evan who didn't deserve it. The older man sighed and looked down at Dwight, his hand resting on his shoulder.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked quietly. Dwight nodded and returned to his usual crate, where Evan stood in front of him. Dwight wanted to wrap his arms abound his neck and be held there, but he kept quiet about that.

"It's the last trial. Cheryl got me killed. On purpose."

There was a long silence after that. Dwight waited expectantly for Evan's response, but the man was quiet. Dwight saw his lower lip twitch slightly. He could tell he was angry, but was trying to hold himself back for Dwight’s sake. He appreciated it, but he knew it wasn’t healthy.   
  


“...let it out, Evan.”

”Who the _fuck_ does she think she is?” Evan yelled, anger laced in his voice. Dwight didn’t expect his voice to be that loud. Booming. “The whole point if you guys being here is to survive together, if she wanted to be a killer, she’s on the wrong fucking side.”   
  


Dwight couldn’t exactly argue with him. He wasn’t wrong, and Dwight could still feel the effects of the previous trial on his back. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but the wound was still open. A wound that didn’t deserve to be there.   
  


“...she’s new. And I know that doesn’t excuse it-“

”Because it doesn’t! She’s been here long enough to know how this game works. She’s been in enough trials to know what is acceptable, yet she thinks she can get away with being a brat who can get whatever she wants. As if the survivors or The Entity won’t put a stop to that.”

Dwight sighed, letting the man sit there for a moment. He was shaking with an anger he hadn’t seen since the first few trials. He didn’t want him to hurt her... that badly. Deep inside Dwight he thought she deserved a little pain. She deserved to suffer for her inexcusable actions. But Dwight knew better than anyone else in The Entity that holding grudges against those you’re forced to live with is a horrible idea. He needed something else to think about, and he thought about the pain in his back. That seemed to make it worse.

”You... don’t happen to own any medkits, do you?” Dwight asked, his voice quiet, almost a whisper compared to the yelling from the older man. Evan shook his head.

”Not that I know of. Where are you hurt?” The anger seemed to fall away as he approached Dwight, his touch was gentle and his words soft and worried. Dwight almost couldn’t believe how he shifted from rage to concern so quickly, and how caring he was for him.   
  


“My back, from when I got downed.” Dwight took his tie off and set it beside him, then started to unbutton his shirt. Evan stopped his hands from moving after the first few buttons.

”Let me.” Dwight figured he had no choice in the matter, so he let his hands fall and allowed Evan to do all the work. Slowly, each button came undone, exposing more skin. He could feel the bigger man staring at his chest with each button that came undone. It made his cheeks flush red.

When all the buttons were off, Evan gently opened his shirt and stared at his chest. Dwight looked up at his face and saw the scarred man grin a little. That didn’t help his embarrassment.

”...can you turn around for me?” Evan asked after a moment of staring. He was shameless with it, too.   
  


“Do you want me standing or sitting?”

”If you could stand and bend over, that would be great.”

”Sitting it is.”

Dwight smiled upon hearing Evan’s chuckle. He loved his laugh. It was deep, always from the heart. Dwight was always proud he was able to make him laugh like that.   
  


Despite the pain that shot through his back, he turned himself around, sitting criss-crossed on the box. Evan ran his thumb along his back, stopping just where the gash began. Dwight swallowed and let him do as he pleased. Not that Dwight would be able to heal himself up anyway.   
  


“I think you should be fine with a few stitches. I have a needle I used to do repairs with, and I bet I have some thread around here somewhere. Would that be okay?” Evan asked, one of his hands resting on his exposed shoulder. Dwight nodded, his hands pulling on the wood on the crate to give him something to do. Normally he would be asleep or at least be dozing of when Claudette or Meg fixed him up.   
  


“I’ll be right back. Don’t move, okay?” Dwight gave a hum as a response, and Evan walked off further into the storehouse to look for whatever he needed. Dwight messed with whatever he could reach in order to keep himself occupied while Evan was gone. He examined what was in the crate through the loose boards- it mostly seemed like equipment. Mining equipment, he figured. He could see a few hard hats and aprons tucked inside, and something glistening in the light towards the bottom. Dwight assumed it was pickaxe. 

He hoped it was a pickaxe, anyway. If it was a bear trap and it snapped, that would probably cause the crate to break. He didn't want to fall either, that would make his pain worse. He wondered if he was able to be injured in the other realms. If he was able to, could he be healed? Or would he be stuck like that? Maybe it was best not to wonder. 

Evan returned shortly after with a box in his hand. Dwight could see the faint outline of a faded cross under all of the dirt. A first aid kit.

"I forgot we had these. We never used them." Evan set it on the table next to him and opened it up. There were basic supplies- bandages, rubbing alcohol, some pills he didn't want to put anywhere near his body. It wasn't exactly anything up to date, but it would suffice. 

"Do you know how to do this?" Dwight asked carefully. As much as he appreciated the help, he didn't want Evan coming near him with a needle if he had no idea how to stitch him up properly.

"I've given myself stitches a few times before. 'Better than spending thousands at the hospital', my father used to say." Dwight just hoped he was good at this. Of course he knew he was no Claudette, who studied for this kind of thing, but if he had done it before, it made Dwight less worried. 

Dwight bit his lip and let the man get to work. He heard him mumble apologies every time Dwight squirmed or grunted in pain. Dwight could feel the gentleness of his actions though. Slow and smooth was the needle and threat getting sewn into his back. Tears welled in Dwight's eyes but he didn't let them fall- he should be used to the pain by now, but everyone knew he had a low pain tolerance. Either way, he choked down his cries and groans of pain and let Evan finish. When he was done, he wiped him down and covered him in his shirt.

"How about we go get you some rest, yeah? You can sleep downstairs. There's nothing down there, don't worry." Evan suggested, and Dwight weakly nodded. He slid himself off the crate, careful not to break his stitches so The Entity could heal him properly. Evan offered his hand and Dwight took it, feeling his hand be almost covered. He felt so small next to Evan, even his hands were so much tinier. Evan led him downstairs, where Dwight noticed the hooks were missing. The red glow from the light bulb still shone down on them, but the blood was gone. Everything was clean, at least. There was a dresser next to the mattress sitting in the corner of the room. There were some tables, chairs, and shelves scattered around as well, all made from scratch. Evan made all of this?

"You can lay down. I'll be upstairs, holler if you need me, okay?"

Dwight collapsed onto the bed. It was the first time he had been on a bed in _years,_ he couldn't believe how comfortable it was. Dwight hummed in response, taking off his glasses and setting them on the dresser next to him. Evan bent down and ruffled his hair, making Dwight smile a little. Evan returned the smile before turning and heading upstairs.

Dwight let himself sink into the bed, curled up into himself. It was so comfortable, so warm. The pillow smelled like Evan. Dwight grabbed it and brought it closer to his face, letting himself fall asleep to the smell of the man upstairs, who he was afraid to admit he had feelings for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YIKES WE DID IT BOYS
> 
> these nest few chapters are :0 but i'll make it up to yall don't worry. we're gonna have some adorable chapters eventually but we need that ANGST first lmao. i hope you enjoyed!


	9. Chapter 9

Dwight woke up in a bed. Which is something he didn't exactly process fully yet, because he couldn't even _remember_ the last time he woke up in a bed. He almost didn't want to pry himself out of the bed in the first place, but he could feel the pull in his chest telling him he needed to go to a trial. Dwight groaned and reached to the side aimlessly, looking for his glasses. When he found them, he put them on and sadly got out of bed. He dragged himself upstairs, where Evan was grabbing his mask and a bear trap from the table.

"Trial?" Dwight asked quietly, still wiping the sleep from his eyes. Evan turned, apparently not hearing him come up the rickety stairs. 

"Are you coming with?" Evan asked, waiting to put the mask on fully. He knew how it made Dwight uncomfortable. 

"Yeah." The smalled man replied, fixing his shirt and grabbing his tie from where they left it before. "Promise me something."

Evan cocked an eyebrow, confused and curious. "Depends on what it is."

Dwight swallowed. "Promise me you'll kill me in this trial. Don't hesitate." 

"No." His reply was quick. No hesitation, like Dwight asked, just not in the manner he wanted. "You know I don't want to hurt you."

"Evan." Dwight stepped closer, rising on his tip-toes to cradle the man's face. "I'll come back to you."

Evan seemed to fall into his touch, and the two stood there in comfortable silence. Evan was the one to pull away. He took Dwight's hand in his own, and Dwight could feel how tiny his hands were compared to the older man's. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about the size difference if he tried. Evan held his hand for a moment, waiting, before letting it go.

"If you promise you'll come back."

"I promise you. Now, let's go, yeah? Don't want to make The Entity mad." Dwight smiled at him, and Evan returned it. They headed in separate ways, with Dwight running towards the broken gates he always came in from and Evan heading to a clearing at the edge of the realm. That was probably his equivalent of their campsite. 

Dwight ran back to the campsite, not wanting to be late and be taken to the trial while he was in the middle of the forest. That wasn't exactly unheard of, but it was tradition to meet at the fire before getting taken to the trial. That way, they knew who they were paired with and could plan accordingly, based on items they brought and how each person played in trials. Dwight barely made it to the campfire on time. Claudette and Meg were standing there waiting for him, and they waved when they saw him coming. Dwight waved back and stood with them, but noticed Cheryl waiting there with a flashlight. She was the fourth person. Against _Evan._ Fantastic. 

The fog covered them, and they were placed in The Midwich Elementary school. Dwight hated this place. The entire map was just a giant square. If you could see the killer all the way on the other side, the way Laurie could, maybe you could use that to your advantage. Without it? He was lost in the giant square and struggled to find pallets that were actually safe to work around. He tried to find pallets but often found an empty room and was downed for his troubles. As for going against Evan on this map? He knew he'd be trapped more than once if Evan placed the traps well enough. 

Dwight spent a solid minute looking for a gen. His best bet was to check the middle courtyard, but all he found was a shiny beartrap by one of the entrances that he disarmed. Sorry, love. Eventually, he found one tucked away in a classroom, so he started working on that. He was halfway done when he could hear his heartbeat grow louder in his ears, and he ducked behind a desk to stay hidden. Cheryl ran past, with Evan hot on her tail. Dwight got back on his generator. 

Cheryl got downed right after he finished his gen, but she was all the way across the school. Dwight tried his hardest to not let his anger get to him, and he reasoned that the two lovebirds were closer to her and could unhook her before he could. He decided to look for another generator on the upper floor. 

Dwight almost stepped in a beartrap at the top of the stairs, but he knew to look for it. Perks of being here the longest, you could say. He still got trapped often, so that wasn't saying much. Dwight disarmed that trap and kept looking. By the time he found another generator Cheryl got unhooked, but Dwight could hear the snapping of three different beartraps before she was saved. 

Evan was taking it out on her. 

"Oh, Evan-" Dwight sighed as he sat on his generator. He'd have to talk to him about it later. For now, he'd get a gen done. He heard one op in the distance as well- someone must've been working while Cheryl got saved. A scream told him everything- Meg went to save her and probably took a hit for her, and Claudette finished their gen. Makes sense, for how they normally perform. 

Meg managed to run Evan around long enough for Dwight to get some good progress on his gen, but he could hear his heartbeat again. Dwight knew he needed to take a hit for her, so he poked his head out the doorway to see where she was. She came sprinting down the hallway and jumped down the flight of stairs, Evan narrowly missing her. Dwight slammed his fist against the wall to get his attention. 

"C'mon, baby." He teased, and even though the mask was on his face, he could tell Evan was smiling. Dwight ran into the room again, taking refuge at the pallet in the middle. Evan huffed as they ran around it, Dwight barely dodging a swing from him. At least he was doing as he promised. 

"You told me you wouldn't be mad at her." He choked out in-between gasps for air. Eventually, he threw the pallet down, stunning his friend on the other side. He felt bad for doing it, now. 

"I'm still mad at her. She deserves it." Evan huffed, running around the pallet. Dwight ran the other way.

"You told me you wouldn't!" Dwight huffed, watching him eventually stop and break the pallet. He ran towards the window on the other side to the next room.

"Wait, Dwight-!"

Oh, just Dwight's luck.

He screamed in pain as the bear trap snapped around his leg, making him fall and whimper. He supposed Evan tried to warn him, but he also warned him mid-vault and he wouldn't be able to turn around if he tried. He could hear his blood pouring out of his leg. Evan approached the window to see Dwight there in agony. Dwight could tell he wanted to vault the window and pick him up that way, but he had an idea. He saw him tinker with the traps enough times to know how to open them easily. Well, easier than before.

"You gotta go around," Dwight grunted, and Evan followed his advice. When Evan was at the doorway to the other room, he pulled at the trap the way he saw Evan do so many times before, and it came apart easily. From where Evan was, when he untrapped himself, he wouldn't be able to hit him, no matter what side he approached from. His plan had worked, and that gave him the energy to vault the window again, where he met Evan's eyes from the other side. He could just barely see his toothy grin from the hole in the mask.

"You've paid attention."

"Maybe. You could say that." 

Two noises at once interrupted their conversation. One was the sound of a generator being completed, and the other was a scream. Cheryl again, caught in a bear trap. Evan huffed and walked off, and Dwight knew he was after Cheryl. He knew better than to argue with him, though. Not now, anyway.

His generator was still right there, so he got back onto it. Cheryl got a little distance but was downed quickly. He could tell Claudette was close by though, and he walked up the stairs to see her about to head down. 

"Dwight! I hadn't seen you all game! How are you doing?" She asked, and Dwight motioned to his leg. Claudette winced and led him down the stairs and into the room where the generator was, and she started patching him up. 

"There was a bear trap out that window," Dwight explained. "I don't know what add-ons he has, so it might re-activate. I used the pallet here before, too. If you stay on the gen, I'll go get Cheryl."  
  


"Sounds good. Those bandages on tight?" She asked in a hurried tone.

"Yep, thanks. I'll be back." He ran off to where he heard Cheryl scream as she was hooked again. He could feel that Meg was close as well, and as he got closer to the hook he could hear her whimpering in a room. Ready for the save. He entered the room and saw her in the corner, where she gasped.

"You scared me! Asshole!" She whisper-yelled, and Dwight quietly laughed. 

"I'm gonna go get Cheryl. Claudette is downstairs in the room closest to the stairs on a gen." Meg nodded and ran off, staring at the ground to avoid any bear traps. Dwight knew where half of them would be, and he was right, As he approached the hook, there were three shiny traps laid around her. Dwight only set one off to save time and gently took her off the hook. 

"Hold onto me, step where I do and you'll avoid the traps." He commanded, and he took the risk of walking backwards the way he came. She followed him, her hands gripping his arms tightly. He safely helped her avoid the other two traps, and they both ran off. Dwight figured it would be best to take her away from where Claudette and Meg were, so they weren't all clumped together. He dragged her into another classroom where a completed gen was. At least he wouldn't think to look in here. 

  
"Show me your leg." He once again commanded, and she complied. Dwight could hardly take the awkward tension. From afar, he could hear Claudette scream. He must've come back to kick the gen. He would worry about it later, right now he needed to fix her leg. 

"Dwight, I'm sorry, I-"

"Hey, it's whatever. Don't worry about it now." He huffed, sweeping the conversation to the side. He didn't want to talk about it now. He bandaged her up crudely, and they parted ways. Dwight ran upstairs and looked for another gen. He heard the one he was on before pop, Meg must've finished it off as he chased Claudette. Hopefully, he could find another generator. Or Cheryl could? 

Dwight looked into another room and luckily found another gen. He got on it, but he heard Claudette scream again as she got downed. At least she hadn't been hooked once this trial. He seemed to be targeting Cheryl, but at least he started to branch off and go for the others. Maybe that isn't as good as he made it out to be. He dedicated himself to working on the gen, trying to finish it as soon as possible. Before he could, another popped in the distance. The gates were powered at least, but Claudette was still hooked. 

Dwight ran to the nearest exit gate and started to open it. Claudette was across the map, so he wasn't able to get her. Meg came running up next to him, standing in front as a shield so he could be protected. The door got opened and Cheryl unhooked Claudette, but she got hit in the process. He could hear them running towards them, so he and Meg ran out to protect them. Meg blocked Claudette, and Dwight was ready to do the same, but...

He hesitated. He didn't do it often, not when it came to protecting his friends, but he still paused for half a second. That was enough for Evan to land the hit on her and she collapsed. Dwight panicked when he saw that he'd failed, but at the same time, the remaining anger he had seemed to go away. She would be getting what she deserved if she was having to deal with Evan and his wrath. 

"Last hook-" He yelled as Evan slashed him with the cleaver. "She's on her last hook! Go!" Evan let the three escape, sealing Cheryl to her gruesome fate with an overprotective Evan MacMillan.

And Dwight didn't feel bad for _any of it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another YIKES chapter !! i hope yall enjoyed !!
> 
> also, i was wondering if yall would like if i made a oneshot book with evan and dwight? maybe not even just oneshots, but other concept ideas i have for them that wouldn't fit in this story? if yall would like to see that,let me know! and thank you for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \---W A R N I N G---
> 
> this chapter contains a character having a panic attack, so if you don't like that kind of thing, i highly suggest you read with caution! thank you!

It had been a long time since the trial should have ended, and Cheryl still hadn't returned. 

Dwight, Claudette, Meg, and Jake all sat around the fire, waiting for her to come back. They had all gotten bandaged up and had been talking to one another for quite some time. In normal games, she should have come back around the same time they all did. Dwight knew why. He bounced his leg to try and calm himself down. It wasn't working.

"You know, I think next time all four of us go in a trial together, we should bring toolboxes."

"Oh, o'course you do, Jake."

"No, listen! We all bring toolboxes, and we sabotage all the hooks until they're close to breaking. So we're all in this one corner of the map together, and when the killer downs one of us, the rest of us go and finish sabotaging all the hooks! And there's no way they can get to a hook, so we wiggle free! It's perfect!" Jake explained quite enthusiastically. Claudette seemed to consider it, but she usually did what Jake asked when it came to trials. Claudette was probably one of the easiest to convince to do certain things, but she always reverted back to her usual self when faced with danger. 

As Jake was talking, the fog danced around them and formed a cloud near them. Cheryl was back. When the fog cleared, she was collapsed on the ground. The sign of a mori. 

"Do you remember him bringing a mori to the trial?" Claudette asked, rushing to her side with Meg. Meg shook her head. Dwight knew he didn't bring one, especially not if he knew Dwight would be there. How did he kill her, then? A hook?

"Oh, sweet jesus-" Meg looked away from her, while Claudette stayed close, opening a medkit and wiping... her head. Dwight looked over and could tell what had happened. He knew Evan was protective, but...

As he scanned her head, there were holes. Holes where blood should be pouring out from, where a normal person would be dead from. There was no blood, just gaping holes needing to be healed by Claudette. She didn't seem to flinch at the injuries, but seemed more curious about why. 

"This is... quite unusual." The young woman acknowledged as she wiped each hole clean. "They're all symmetrical holes. Same length, width, distance apart. I'd imagine they left the same sized hole inside of her. It doesn't appear to be that deep. Whatever he did didn't seem to fracture her skull, so there should be no substantial damage. Nothing worth noting, if The Entity works normally."

"Well, sure, but what the fuck is it?" Jake asked, crouched beside Meg, who had her eyes covered. Dwight's lip quivered as he spoke.

"...he put her head in a bear trap."

The whole group turned to look at him. Claudette seemed to put the pieces together, Jake looked disgusted, and Meg looked angry.

"How'd you know that, huh?!"

"Look at the holes... well, you don't have to if you don't want." Dwight explained, walking over and crouching beside Claudette. "Symmetrical holes. Same length, same width. Just like my leg, and yours, and everyone else's once before... that's gotta be from a bear trap."

Claudette finished cleaning all of the holes and worked on bandaging them properly. "That would make sense, yes. However, it's unlikely she'll be able to fully participate in any trials for a while. If he had placed her at just the right angle, he may have been able to cause severe head trauma... but I don't think any of the spikes were in positions where they were able to fracture anything or cause direct harm to her brain."

They sat in silence for a while, watching as Claudette bandaged her up with the limited supplies they had. Jake still held Meg, who could only look at Cheryl for a few moments before she had to look away. Dwight couldn't force himself to turn away even if he wanted to. He knew why Evan did this. He knew _he was the reason_ Evan did this. He knew it would bite him in the ass when she woke up. He tried not to think about it. It still wasn't working.

Claudette always worked fast- you learned that you didn't have a choice in The Entity- but with the placement of the injuries, it took her a bit longer. The Doctor and The Deathslinger had mori's where they affected your head in some way, but the type of injuries when they came back weren't bad. A migraine or a sore throat and loss of voice were really the only after effects. This was new territory. 

Even after she was done bandaging her, Cheryl laid there motionless. They all sat back down at the fire and waited for her to wake up. Dwight almost didn't want her to. He knew he was backed in a corner, but every time he tried to think of a way to get out of it, he ran into the same problem. He knows about what happened at the trial against The Doctor. He knows how Dwight died. He knows Cheryl was the one who killed him. He couldn't explain that away. Lying to his friends would be necessary for him to avoid getting called out, but he didn't have any excuses. Maybe The Doctor told him about it? But that implies that killers can go from realm to realm, and as far as Dwight was concerned, he and Quentin were the only ones that knew how to travel to the different realms. Hell, the only ones that really knew about them in the first place. All he could do was sit and wait for the storm. He was in the eye of the hurricane, but not for long.

Their passage of time was warped, but maybe an hour had passed before the blonde started to stir on the ground. Claudette rushed to her side, whispering to her and telling her to lay back down for now. To slowly open her eyes, to take a painkiller that was tucked away in the midkit. Dwight started to panic again. 

"Sit up when you feel ready. You may have a headache, that's what the pill is for. Don't move too quickly." The young healer explained as she helped Cheryl through the pain. Eventually she was able to sit up, tears welling in her eyes during the process. She took a few deep breaths, avoiding looking at anyone, before her eyes settled on Dwight.

The eye of the hurricane had passed. He was in the storm.

"...why didn't you tell us about him?" Her voice was hushed, broken. He'd offer her water, if they had any. Everyone tuned to look at him. 

"What's she talkin' about, Dwight?" Meg asked, narrowing her eyes. 

"About The Trapper." Cheryl didn't ever look away from him. Dwight tugged at his tie, clearly nervous. They all knew it, too. They had been here long enough to know how he operates. "You never told us, any of us, about him, did you?"

"What was I supposed to say?" Dwight quietly responded. He looked down at his muddy shoes, wishing that everyone would just stop _looking_ at him. It didn't work. He could feel their stares on him. Maybe they could feel how on-edge he was.

"Do you know what The Trapper did to me, Dwight?" The blonde asked, pointing to her head. The brunette could only nod in reply. "Do you know _why_ he did this to me? Because he told me why. Do you want to be the one to say it, or should I?" 

Dwight looked back up at her, and her eyes had never once moved since he looked away. She didn't appear... angry. While, yes, there was anger in her eyes, that wasn't all of it. Her tone wasn't filled with rage, she wasn't snarling at him. She looked more confused than anything. Hurt. Betrayed. He didn't know if that was better or worse. All Dwight could do was swallow the pit growing in his throat, not saying a word. 

"As he put my head in that trap, he told me... 'don't ever put a hand on my boy again'. And he snapped it shut... 'My boy'? Your 'his boy' now, Dwight?"

The stares only got worse. He could feel their disgust, their hatred, their rage. Or maybe that was what he thought he was feeling. He didn't dare look at them, he knew better. He didn't know what he should do, and every reply he came up with in his head just seemed to get worse and worse with each idea. 

"...it isn't anything bad, Cheryl."

"So it's true, then. You're talking to a killer. You told him everything. You're _friends_ with a killer, and never told us a damn word about it." 

Dwight could feel his eyes grow weak with tears, his breath was shaky and broken. When he looked down into his lap, his hands were shaking. It felt like his world was smaller, like the walls were closing in on him, even though he was outside. He could hardly breathe at all, and it got worse as his brain went crazy with thoughts. You're going to lose all of your friends. You mean nothing to them. They don't care about you anymore. They want you dead. All of your friends hate you. 

Is this my fault? Could I have stopped this? Should I have stopped this sooner? Is my happiness really worth risking for this? Who do I care about more? Either option is horrible, why should I care? Because they care, idiot. They made it clear you shouldn't have done it in the first place. You knew that from the very beginning. They have every right to be upset. Your only friend is going to be a man that lives to kill you over and over again, and eventually he isn't going to care about you either. _All of your friends hate you._

Dwight never was one to stand up to his problems. It was rare when he did. Now was not one of those rare times. Dwight did what he was comfortable with. Dwight did what was best for himself. Dwight did what he did best- he ran.

He got up and turned on his heel, sprinting into the forest. He heard cries from behind him, but he couldn't tell who it came from. The noises sounded blurry, like he was under water. As he ran, he could hear people chasing him. Meg and Jake, probably. He knew he wasn't fast enough to outrun Meg, or calm enough to hide in the bushes and wait the way Jake sometimes did. His brain would have told him to throw anything behind him to stop Meg from chasing him, or at least hinder her somewhat, if he was thinking straight. He wasn't.

Call him a one trick pony, but there was only one advantage he had over them. He knew The Entity better than anyone, though Quentin may disagree. He knew what he needed to do, where he so desperately needed to be. He thought of the silence surrounding the large storehouse, the boxes full of mining supplied that he always sat on top of, the messy tables full of traps and add-ons. He thought of Evan. How he looked, how he smelled, how big he was when Dwight hugged him, the way he laughed when Dwight told a silly joke. He needed Evan now, because he was the only one that would care. For now. 

Dwight saw the storehouse in the distance, and he quickly ran through the chain link fence, thankful he didn't trip on the wires as he stepped on them. When he looked behind them, Meg and Jake were gone. Nobody was there following him anymore, he was alone with himself on the outskirts of the realm. Dwight slowly approached the building again, trying his hardest to breathe but he couldn't get any air. It felt like he was suffocating.

As soon as he stepped inside the storehouse he was being swept off his feet and sat down on the bed in the basement. He didn't remember how he got there. It was a blur to him. Maybe because he couldn't breathe.

As time passed, the blurriness of his ears faded, his eyesight returned to him. His breathing was better, and that was when he noticed Evan, sitting with a concerned look on his face. As Dwight tilted his head to look up at him, the man crouched down and hugged the smaller man.

"I was worried for you. You almost collapsed." Evan held him tight, but upon realizing he needed some space, he moved away. Dwight appreciated the space, it made it easier to breathe, it made him worry less about the walls closing in on them. Dwight needed something to drink. Not that water was particularly abundant in The Entity, but still. 

"I-I'm sorry about it all, just..." Dwight pulled himself into a ball. "Th-They... found out. About us, and I got scared they would hate me, and I panicked, and I didn't know what else to do, and I just needed you." Dwight choked out, feeling the tears well in his eyes again. Evan put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be here as long as you need me to be. I promise." 

They sat together in silence for a while. Dwight tried to regain his composure, tried to steady his breathing, tried to stop shaking, while Evan stayed close by, comforting him as best as he could. Dwight slowly started to calm down, where he was able to tell the walls weren't getting closer together. Where he was able to breathe at a normal pace again. Where he was able to realize he just had a panic attack. He stopped thinking about that as soon as it came to his head.

"...Evan?"

"Yes?"

"Can you... lay with me?"

Dwight's face went red as he asked, but he didn't care. He wanted to be held, he wanted to bury his head in Evan's chest and breathe him in. He wanted those strong arms to wrap around him so tightly he couldn't escape if he tried. He wanted Evan to whisper him sweet nothings and rub his back as he was drifting off to sleep. Judging by Evan's smile, he was okay with that.

"Of course." 

Evan took part of his coveralls off already, Dwight finally noticed, so he would have his bare chest to lay on which was amazing. The bigger man laid down and looked over at Dwight expectantly, and Dwight crawled over to lay down on top of him. His head rested on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around the man's neck. He laid to the side, letting his leg bend and rest on top of his chest. On a normal person, his leg would be right by his side, but Evan was not a normal person, so his leg was basically right on top of his chest. Dwight realized he probably wouldn't be able to straddle both of his legs if he ever wanted to. And _boy,_ did he want to. Evan pilled Dwight close, and he could feel one of his large hands start to play with his hair.

"You've had a long day. Get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up." 

Dwight looked up at him, and for a moment, he wanted to lean up and kiss him. But he knew better, so instead he settled for smiling and nuzzling into his shoulder.

"Good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o u c h !! i had to bully my baby dweet this chapter but it's for a good cause 
> 
> also, i wrote dwight having a panic attack based off of my own experienced from a few years ago, so i sincerely apologize if it's not described accurately! that's just what i remember feeling like and i tried to write the franticness(??) as best as i could. if it's not that accurate, please tell me in the comments and i'll try to fix it! 
> 
> and, as always, i hope you enjoyed!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i am SO, SO SORRY about the delay if this chapter! we had a massive storm and i was out of power for a while, and to add on to that, the giant tree in my front yard fell down on top of my house, so we had to deal with that. but i should be back to regular updates now! again, i’m so sorry about the delay, and i hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter!

Dwight never considered himself a nosy person, but he supposed his old job made him that way.

That's how he ended up where he was now. When he woke up, Evan was still asleep under him. Dwight didn't have the heart to wake him, so he laid there, admiring him for a while. His jawline, how the tension in his face was gone when he slept, the scars lining his face. He was afraid if he moved from his chest, he would wake the older man up, but eventually, he grew antsy and needed to do something. He didn't like to be sitting and doing nothing anymore, not after getting taken by The Entity. 

So there he was, looking through boxes to occupy his time. Most of the boxes were filled with spare clothes, toolboxes, and trinkets he didn't dare touch in fear of breaking them. One of the boxes was filled with scattered papers and pencils, most of which were dull of broken. They were drawings, he realized. Birds, flowers, trees- and Dwight. Many, many pictures of Dwight.

It made his heart flutter, but what he was most interested in was how all of the pictures were dated. None of the survivors knew about the passage of time here. Dwight blamed himself for that. He was here the longest, that was a well-known fact, but he didn’t document time passing by. He figured nobody did, including the killers, but there it was, stamped beside his neck.   
  


August 3rd, 2020. Had it really been four years? Dwight knew for a fact that when he was taken, it was around March in 2016... it had been four years since he was gone. Four years.

He tried not to acknowledge the fact he was most likely presumed dead by everyone he’s ever known and been forgotten. Instead, he just admired the drawings of himself. They were quite detailed as well, including small things that wouldn’t be visible unless he was up close to his face.   
  


It made Dwight’s heart flutter a little. Evan cared for him enough to draw him out with such intricate details, like the small freckles on his cheeks and the hole where his ear was once pierced a long time ago. It made him feel admired, in a way.   
  


After taking some time to look through his art, he closed the box and put it back on the shelf, where it belonged. As he looked around, he realized there wasn’t much else for him to look at. He had already opened all the smaller boxes, except one, which was in the corner, surrounded by random items. As if Evan was trying to hide it. Well, the man was asleep, and Dwight was curious.   
  


Pulling out the dusty box from behind some mining equipment, he could see the label on top of the lid. _The Incident, 1996._ The incident? What did that mean?   
  


He coughed when he popped the lid off, his nose being overrun by dust. When he calmed himself down, he examined the contents in the box. Inside was a closed bear trap with a note on top, saying _“a reminder.”_ It was rusted over, and luckily already closed, so Dwight had no issue taking it out. Underneath was a newspaper article. Dwight adjusted his glasses so he was able to read.

_**Headliner: MacMillan Estate destroyed, killing over a hundred.**  
_

_This morning, police were surprised to see the remnants of The MacMillan Estate, the mining company on the Seattle coast. The mineshaft was closed off by rubble and debris, trapping workers inside with no way of getting oxygen. Fragments of bombs have been recovered, implying the cave-in was not accidental. The main building in the estate was also destroyed by the bombs, with owner Archie MacMillan found murdered inside.  
  
_

_“His body was gruesome.” Sheriff Connor Anderson said about the murder. “The extent that the killer went to ensure his suffering as he died suggests this was done out of revenge.”  
  
_

_Officials are trying their best to clear the rubble and recover the bodies of the lost miners. While unconfirmed, they speculate the body count is over one hundred. Evan MacMillan, the future CEO, and son of Archie MacMillan hasn’t been found.  
  
_

Dwight reread the paper in his hands over and over again, trying to make sense of the article. A bombing of The MacMillan Estate. Archie MacMillan, Evan’s father, found brutally murdered. Hundreds presumed dead inside the mine. Evan’s body hadn’t been recovered. When he said he wasn’t a good person to him before, now he could understand why.   
  


This used to be Dwight’s job, writing articles for a newspaper, and occasionally doing interviews. But never once during his job did he ever have to write a story about something like that. Even still, he could put the pieces together.   
  


Evan was the one who set the bombs. Evan was the one who killed all of the miners. Evan was the one who killed his father. It made sense, too. Dwight pieced together over time that Evan has an abusive father and had grown up to only work and never have time for himself. Only work. Only the mines. He imagined that Evan got sick of it. He ended it all, ended the MacMillan legacy with a bomb, and brutal murder. He probably planned on hiding for the rest of his life, maybe turning himself in, maybe ending his own life. That was before The Entity took him in, and here he was.   
  


Reading over the paper made his heart turn a little for Evan, though. 1996. He had been here, alone, with nothing except his own thoughts, since 1996. It was 2016 when Dwight arrived. Twenty years, he was alone, only to be forced to murder, over and over again.   
  


But even so, that didn’t make him feel any less afraid by the newspaper. Dwight knew that Evan didn’t want to ever hurt him, but this? He murdered everyone he’d ever known, including his father. What’s to say he wouldn’t do that to him, too?

He heard footsteps at the bottom of the staircase, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He just stared at the newspaper as the footsteps grew louder and louder until he could feel Evan’s eyes on his back. He didn’t care.   
  


“You shouldn't have read that.” Evan’s voice was raspy, deep, and a little threatening. “It was hidden for a reason.”

”It wasn’t hidden well enough if I could find it.” Dwight retorted, tracing his thumb over the picture of the estate on the front. It looked just the way Dwight knew. He knew the place inside and out, but now he truly knew it, too.

”That’s personal information.” Evan huffed, quickly approaching Dwight. Dwight instinctively braced himself for a blow that never came. Instead, when he turned, Evan had froze, most likely upon seeing Dwight flinch. He hadn’t done that in a while.   
  


“I-I’ll put it away,” Dwight muttered, quickly putting the paper and the rusted trap back inside the box and sealing them with the lid. Dwight swallowed the lump in his throat as he put the box back where he found it. He didn’t dare meet Evan’s eyes.

”This is why I didn’t want you to read it. To know about all of this. I knew you would be afraid of me.” Evan sighed, his eyes never once leaving Dwight. Dwight didn't want to say he was afraid of Evan, but the way he refused to look at him told a different narrative.

It wasn't that Dwight was afraid of Evan himself. He knew Evan cared for him, he truly did, he was more afraid of what this incident implied. Archie MacMillan was Evan's father. An abusive father, yes, but his family. Evan had told him about how he had used to be friends with some of the people who worked under his father's company. He had murdered his father, his friends, people he told Dwight he used to trust. And where did that leave Dwight? Was he a target as well? Was Evan just using him, and ready to discard him when he didn't need him around anymore? Dwight tugged on his tie, trying to ground himself. It wasn't working. 

"You're overthinking," Evan noticed, making Dwight drop his hand from the tie. He heard Evan take a step closer, and another, until there was a hand on his shoulder. And, from the corner of his eye, he could see Evan had knelt down to his height. "Look at me, Dwight."

Evan swallowed his remaining fears and down at him. It was weird, to be the one looking down to speak to him. Evan gave Dwight a small smile, and Dwight knew it was to help calm him down. It worked a little. Evan caressed his shoulder, keeping him calm. "I'm never going to hurt you." 

They stayed that way for a while, Dwight focusing on his breathing to calm himself down from his panicked thinking. Eventually, his breathing evened out, and he stopped panicking. He met Evan's eyes again, where he choked out the question he needed to ask. Maybe he was nosy.

"Why did you do it?"

Evan sighed, and Dwight figured he pushed him a little too far. Before he was able to apologize, Evan started to speak.   
  


“I couldn’t take it anymore. After all the... treatment I got from my father, I couldn’t handle it. I started to believe him, I thought the way he treated me and his workers was fair. But he wasn’t... he wasn’t right. And when I figured that out, and saw all the pain I helped him cause... I ended it all.”   
  


Dwight understood today an extent. When he saw the suffering he caused others, he decided to make sure that never happened again. That part he understood fine. What he failed to understand was why he needed to kill all of the workers inside the mine as well. They didn’t do anything wrong, why kill them?   
  


“That... makes sense. I guess.” Dwight said with a sigh. “With your father. But not everyone else.”

”I don’t expect you to understand it, Dwight. I know you won’t understand. I just... don’t want you to run away.”   
  


Dwight’s expression changed to one of sympathy. He understood that feeling of wanting someone to stay. It had been a long while since he felt anything like that, but he understood how he felt.   
  


“I’m not gonna run. I’m gonna stay right here with you.” Dwight said with a small smile. Evan grinned and wrapped him up in a hug, Which Dwight gladly returned. Just as Dwight was going to let go, Evan stood up and spun, Dwight still in his arms. Dwight laughed, struggling a little to keep his arms around his neck.   
  


“Put me down!” He laughed, and Evan complied. They both had a wide smile.   
  


“You’re lucky I have a trial to go to. I wasn’t gonna put you down.”   
  


“I knew you weren’t!” Dwight chuckled, and walked off to grab Evan’s mask. He handed it to him, which the bigger man gladly accepted.   
  


“I’ll be right back.” Evan slipped his mask on and waved, grabbing a few traps on his way out.   
  


As he left, Dwight sat down on one of the tables in the storehouse. As the silence grew louder, he realized just how alone he really was. The realization hurt, just a little. No friends, no lover. Just an empty room with a scared kid inside.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we love a confident dwight
> 
> also, hear me out... streamer frank and quentin, where frank's super popular and has a million subscribers on youtube, and quent's a baby streamer who plays with dwight and has a very open crush on frank,,,
> 
> gimme your thoughts, and enjoy the chapter !

Dwight got used to the silence, and in turn, the loneliness, and tried to waste time until Evan got back. He couldn't go back to the campsite, at least not until he needed to go to a trial. He just hoped he didn't need to go to a trial for a long time. The longer he could gather his thoughts and figure out how he would explain everything, the better. 

As time went on, Dwight found things to do. He organized, he made the bed, whatever he could. Evan should be coming back soon, and Dwight wanted to have everything clean and ready for when he returned. It was the least he could do, after dumping his problems onto him and then getting into his personal business. So obedient, he could hear Meg tease him in his head. If he were with someone normal, anyway.

And that made him wonder, too. What he and Evan technically were. Because even Dwight, and all of his obliviousness, could tell there was something there. They had a connection, they had since the first trial. Maybe they didn't want to admit it. But now he _did_ admit it, and it made him wonder. What did Evan want from him? What did he want from Evan?

If Evan only wanted something casual, that was fine. If he only wanted to use Dwight for sex, well... that would hurt, yes, but Dwight would go along with it. He was so attached now, and it's not like he had anywhere else to go. He doubted that was what he wanted, though. Who would take all this time, getting to know the person you're supposed to murder over and over, just for casual sex? Unless Evan was that desperate? But he had never even tried anything with Dwight, nothing explicitly sexual. 

Dwight was snapped out of his thought by the sound of footsteps behind him. That normally wouldn't surprise him, since this wasn't only his place, but what did surprise him was the sound of the footsteps. They were light, really soft, as if they were sneaking around. Evan's footsteps were always loud due to his size- he couldn't sneak up on Dwight if he tried. So who was this?

Dwight, in a panic, grabbed the closest thing he could find, which happened to be a screwdriver, and pointed it in the direction the sounds were coming from, trying to appear threatening. He expected a killer or something, but instead-

"Dwight! Nonono, it's me!" Quentin yelled, flinching from the screwdriver. Dwight set it down once it processed it was Quentin and rushed over to him.

"Quent! What are you doing here?" Dwight's voice was hushed and quick, despite knowing they were alone. The question was for how long. 

"Are we alone? He's not-"

"He's in a trial right now. You gotta be quick, he'll be back any minute now."

"Okay, hear me out." Quentin huffed, fixing the beanie that was falling off his messy curls. "Look, the gang... well, your gang, really- they want to talk. They aren't mad! They just wanna talk, they want you to come back. They're really worried."

"Not mad?" Dwight laughed, though there wasn't any happiness in his voice. "Not mad. Yeah right, you find out one of your best friends is trying to fuck the guy that's been killing you since day one, and you aren't mad? I doubt it." 

"Hear me out, okay? We don't have time for this. Just listen to me." Quentin huffed, his eyes darting back and forth looking for The Trapper. "They want you to come back, talk things out, try and understand what you're doing. That's all."

Dwight crossed his arms. "Yeah? And when I tell them I like a killer- I _love_ a killer, what are they gonna say then? Are they gonna hold me, tell me everything's okay and move on?"

"That was their plan, yeah."

Dwight groaned, and held his face in his hands. As much as he wanted to believe they weren't upset, he just couldn't. Any normal person, inside The Entity or not, would be beyond pissed at him for what he's been doing. 

"I can't go, Quentin. There's no point. They're just gonna get mad and I'm gonna get forced out until we have trials, where they'd let me die on a hook or try their hardest to get me killed."

"Dwight, are they really going to do that?"

"Maybe not Meg, Claudette, Jake. But the others? Especially the newer ones, there's no way they'll accept me." 

They sat in silence for a while, both of them seemingly forgetting that they were short on time. Quentin was the one to break the silence with a small sigh. Dwight saw his hands fidgeting, tugging at the bottom of his shirt. So that was why his clothes were stretched out. 

"Okay, look." His voice was wavering a little. He was scared. "They... might be confused and disgusted if one person is with a killer. But there's not just one, is there?" 

Dwight's breath fell short. He knew what that meant, but he felt horrible for it. "You wouldn't."

"Just come back. If things get bad, we'll go down together, okay?" Quentin gave him a small, scared smile. "You've risked yourself for me so many times in trials. Died for me. It's... it's the least I can do." 

As much as Dwight didn't want to admit it, that calmed him down quite a bit. He felt bad for feeling that way, but it reassured him he wouldn't be alone. That was what scared him the most. He always could rely on the others, someone was always there with him. So when they weren't... it made him uneasy. Now, things would be less... scary? Risky? 

"I don't want to out you and Frank." Dwight mumbled, but Quentin put a hand on his arm to silence him. 

"We'll be okay. Are we going, or not?" 

Dwight weighed his options. Never face his friends ever again, or finally admit to things, and at least have one friend still by his side. It seemed pretty obvious to him. 

"Yeah, let's go."

The walk back to the campsite was filled with an awkward, scared silence. Both of them were scared, and for good reason. Dwight didn't want to be left behind, and Quentin didn't want to be outed. But neither of them knew what else to do. 

Dwight thought about what he was going to say. Was he going to tell them he wasn't trying to date him? That they were never going to get together? That he wasn't sure? Honestly, he wasn't sure what they were yet. What they were going to be. Dwight liked Evan. A lot. Loved him, even. And he knew Evan cared for him, sure, but love him? Be so utterly attached to him the way Dwight was? He doubted it.

What were they going to ask him? That was also something he worried about. He assumed some that were obvious, the 'are you dating?' kind of questions. How personal was this going to get? How much could he talk about without making Evan upset? 

"Dwight." Quentin grabbed Dwight's arm to stop him from walking. They were approaching the edge of the forest, and the campsite was in sight now. He could see Claudette, Meg, and Jake were sitting around the fire, waiting for him. The rest of the area was barren, nobody else was around the fire. They would be alone. That calmed him down a little. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Well, no, I'm not. But I'm already here, so there's no point in turning back now." Dwight said with a shrug, and gave Quentin a small, unsure smile. Quentin sighed and nodded, returning the uneasy smile, and the two stepped out of the forest.

As they walked through the clearing, the three turned their heads to look at them. He gave an awkward wave, along with an embarrassed smile. He and Quentin sat down beside one another, and Dwight stared down at his shoes. 

"Thanks for coming back, Dwight." Claudette started, and though he couldn't see it, he could tell she was smiling. He could hear it in her voice. He appreciated it anyway. 

"Yeah, man. We were worried when you took off like that." Jake continued. "I don't think I've ever seen you run that fast."

Dwight laughed quietly, despite the awkward situation. At least they were still trying to be friends with him. Though, he noticed that the most talkative of the bunch, Meg, was very quiet. 

They sat in an awkward silence, but Jake was the one to ask the first question. 

"So... You and The Trapper, huh?"

Dwight laughed a little, and nodded. "I guess you can say that. We're not... together, exactly. But we're friends."

"How did that even happen?" Claudette asked next. She seemed more curious than anything.

"I told you this part, didn't I?" Dwight asked rhetorically. "He spared me that one day. Out of the blue, too, he just... let me leave through the hatch. And this happened more and more and more... until eventually I stopped running and escaping him and I actually talked to him."

"You? Face your problems? Such character development, huh Dwight?" Meg spoke up, and while Dwight could tell she was trying to be funny, he could her the disgust in her voice. Yikes. He laughed anyway.

"Yeah, I guess. We talked for a while after trials and such. He was... nice to me. He let me talk about whatever, and he reassured me he wasn't going to kill me after the trial was done, and everyone was gone..." This part he was lying about, but he decided it would be best to not tell them you can actually go to the other killers if you choose to. "And the whole Cheryl thing happened. We were friends, and... I guess he was just protective of me."

"Putting her head in a bear trap isn't exactly fair." 

"And her pushing me to my death against The Doctor is?" Dwight shot back. "I know it wasn't exactly... right, for her to die like that. I felt really bad. But he's still my friend, just like you guys are."

"Just friends?" Jake gave a knowing look, and Dwight's face flushed. 

"Yes, just friends!" He sputtered out, hoping they couldn't see through his lie. "Evan's like, 6'8 and could crush me without even trying. He wouldn't want to date me, trust me."

"His name is Evan?" Claudette asked, tilting her head a little.

"Yeah. Evan Macmillan. He's nicer than you'd think, honestly."

"Except when he's killing all of us."

"Yes, Meg."

Dwight assumed out of all of them, Meg would be the least okay with what he was doing, and he was right. It's not that she was against them both being men, obviously, since she's dating Claudette. It was just the fact he was with a killer that turned her off. 

"So..." Claudette started, trying to ease the tension growing. "He hasn't... asked about us, has he?"

Dwight hadn't even thought about them asking that. "Oh, god no. Even if he did, I wouldn't tell him about what happens here. And I definitely wouldn't tell him about you guys. That's your business, not his."

"Good, good." The woman sighed in relief. "I was worried about him manipulating you. He's still a killer, after all."

"I get it, Claude." He gave her a small smile. "But you guys were my friends first. I wouldn't tell him anything he could exploit, I promise."

"You best not!" Meg exclaimed from across the fire. "Lord knows he gets enough kills on his own."

"Seriously though, tell him not to trap every entrance to the basement once someone's down there. It's the worst to go up against." Jake said with a soft laugh. "I can't break the hooks in the basement."

They all fell into a weird silence. Dwight felt a little better knowing they didn't exactly hate him, but he could still feel their judgement, no matter how hard they may have tried to hide it. They had every right to judge him though, and he knew that. It still made him uncomfortable.

"I, um... I'm sorry. About all of this."

"For what? Banging a killer behind our backs? Or running away like a little bitch?"

"Meg!" Claudette yelled at her girlfriend, which was unusual for her, but Meg didn't seem to budge. 

"I'm not 'banging a killer'." Dwight tried to stay calm, despite her upsetting words. He didn't want to have his own outburst. "He listens to what I say and cares for me. So of course I run back to him. Would _you_ like to hear my journalism stories, Meg? Or listen to me and my self esteem issues? Or, maybe, you'd like to hear about my fears about being a leader? Because he does all of that."

Meg silenced herself, which admittedly made Dwight a little proud. Rendering Meg Thomas to silence wasn't an easy task. Dwight sighed and stood, stretching his arms a little. 

"Well, my 'facing my problems' quota has been filled for the next century, so I'll be heading out now."

"Dwight-"

"I'll be back eventually, Jake. Just need some more time, alright?"

Dwight turned on his heel and walked back into the forest, and after a few steps, he heard someone scrambling after him. Light footsteps, awkward pacing. Quentin. Dwight didn't bother turning around to look at him, he just waited for him to join his side. He was filled with a newfound confidence.

The two walked in silence for a while. There wasn't much to talk about. Well, there was, but not within potential earshot of anyone else. So they continued into the forest, not exchanging a word, until they reached a small clearing. When they arrived, Dwight turned around to face the poor boy.

"Let's have a chat, shall we?"


	13. Chapter 13

The clearing the two had reached was silent, apart from the soft breathing coming from both men. Dwight motioned for the boy to sit, in which he followed suit. They sat across from each other, tension weighing on both of them. Dwight sighed quietly. 

"I... apologize for dragging you into his mess." He started. It was a good place to start, and hopefully calm the air. "It's not your job to solve my problems, and for making you do that, I'm sorry."

Quentin huffed a laugh. "It's fine, really. It was weird without you around, and everyone was on edge. To get you to come back and talk was a good first step."

"I suppose." Dwight tugged on his tie, trying not to vent, though he needed to. "So... how badly do you think that went?"

"It didn't go badly. It could've been worse." Quentin started. "They could have kicked you out."

"You think that's not what Meg wants? I've known that girl for a while, and she gets stuck in her ways. She can act all fine later on, but she'll never forgive me. She might as well kick me out if she's gonna act like that."

"Not everyone is going to hate you. I don't, Claudette and Jake don't. I can bet Nea won't, Feng, Yui, David. They'll be fine."

"And where does that leave everyone else?"

"Who cares?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out!" Dwight practically yelled. "Why do they care so much about what I do? Who cares? Who cares that I spend my time with a killer, if he makes me happy? It's literally not hurting them, I made sure of that. Who cares that I'm friends with him? Who cares if I devote myself to him, because he's the only one who thinks the things I have to say are interesting in any way? None of them have ever cared about what I had to say, so why do they suddenly care when someone does? The fact that a killer cares more about my personal life than they do should say something, but no! But who fucking cares!" 

The two were left in a heavy silence. Dwight took a second to catch his breath, while Quentin shifted awkwardly in front of him. Dwight knew he was surprised. Dwight never yelled at anyone, if anything he was more soft spoken compared to the rest of the group. He always suppressed his anger,kept it bottled up and stored away from anyone else. To explode like that was unusual for him.

But Dwight found it justified. He kept all of his emotions bottled up for the past few years inside The Entity. He had been here for so long, along with his friends, yet they only just recently found out his old dream of being a journalist. Dwight was always the one to sit and listen, but never the one to be listened to. He was never truly heard in The Entity, and the one person who changed that happened to be a killer. So what.

"Um..." Dwight coughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. I understand what you mean." Quentin gave him an awkward smile. "Being with Frank and everything... He listens to me the way I know Evan listens to you, so... I understand that feeling of not caring what others think."

Dwight had nearly forgotten about that. Getting all wrapped up in his own problems with his killer, he'd forgotten Quentin was dating a killer as well. 

"Let's stay in character, shall we? I like to listen anyway, so..." Dwight started, grinning. "If you're anything like me, you've wanted to talk about your relationship for so long, but were afraid of the judgement that came with it. Right?" 

Quentin's face went bright red, and Dwight knew he hit the mark. He continued to speak. "Actually, don't answer that, I already know your answer. So, here's your chance. I want you to tell me about him. What's he like?"

The younger boy shook his head. "Nonono, it's okay! I don't need to talk about it, it's fine-"

"You may not _need_ to talk about it, but you definitely want to, don't you? C'mon, tell me about him."

Dwight assumed Quentin was just like him. A boy in love with someone they aren't supposed to be with. A Romeo and Juliet kind of relationship. He wanted to talk about his relationship, but couldn't. He'd be judged, outcasted, shamed. So he bottled it up instead. Dwight supposed the least he could do is let him talk. 

"Are you sure?" Quentin's voice was light, like he was afraid to speak. Dwight simply nodded in reply, giving him a smile along with it. 

"Well..." The boy started, "He's actually really interesting. He's a year younger than I am, but always has way more experience in pretty much everything. He started The Legion with his friends, but Julie was the one to name it. They took over the Ormond hotel since it was abandoned. Whenever I go and see him, we take over one of the rooms and the others give us our privacy to do-"

"To do _what?"_ Dwight teased, making Quentin's face flush red again.

"It's not like that!" He practically yelled, making Dwight laugh. "We normally just watch old movies and talk about whatever we want. The hotel has more rooms when we're not in trials, so its got a bed, a working tv, and a couple of heaters so we're not freezing all the time. He's actually really handsome when he's not wearing the mask."

"Yeah?" Dwight smiled, knowing the boy was starting to enjoy himself more. "What's he look like?" 

"Well, he has dark brown eyes and a super sharp jawline. Like, cut diamonds sharp. He has this undercut that he pushes back so it's not in his face, and he cuts his initials into the back. He's got tattoos everywhere, except his face. He's got this super cool skull one on his neck, right where his throat is. He said he'd give me a stick and poke if I wanted."

"Oh, really? That's pretty cool, actually. What do you think you'd get?" 

"I was trying to decide for a while, but I think I finally settled on one. A small one so nobody asks where I got it, because... well, they'd never see it." He took off his beanie and pushed his hair away from behind his ear. "Right here, waves."

"Waves?" Dwight asked curiously. "Why waves?"

"I was a swimmer, before everything happened." He explained, putting his hat back on. "You know Freddy, don't you? My old girlfriend and I stopped him, fora short time. He was there, in the real world. Then we got trapped here, but... I always loved swimming. I miss it a lot, so to have it that close to me... It would be nice."

"I suppose you're right. I didn't know you used to have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, I did. I used to have a crush on her for the longest time, but I didn't get to be with her for that long before I was taken. I forced myself to move on-" The boy yawned, wiping his eyes. "Sorry. But yeah, I used to be so head over heels for her, but once I was brought here, I had to move on. Frank made it easier. I guess he saw we were about the same age, went through difficult times as teenagers. He felt bad for me, I guess. He never told me why he chose me, but... I'm grateful that he did."

"He sounds like he treats you well. That's good. I might have to get Jake and David on his ass if he doesn't." Dwight laughed. Quentin laughed along with him. 

"God, no. Those two would kill him." 

"That would be the point, yes."

Quentin laughed again, and Dwight made note of how the tension in his shoulders seemed to fall away during the course of the conversation. Based on the way Quentin was talking, Frank seemed to make him happy. That's all Dwight really cared about. As long as he was safe and content, Dwight was too. 

Quentin yawned again and stood up. "I'm gonna go crash at the hotel, if that's alright. I haven't slept in days."

"In _days?_ I think I'd be offended if you didn't get some sleep right now." Dwight said with a smile, standing up with him. "Go on. Tell them I say hi."

"I will!" Quentin waved and walked off into the forest, and Dwight watched him until he couldn't see him anymore. Once he was gone, Dwight sighed and wiped his pants down, getting rid of the dirt on them. The conversation had calmed him down, and while he was tempted to go back to the campfire and talk things out, he needed to see Evan first.

He walked in the opposite direction of Quentin, picturing Evan's smile and the way he twirled his mask around his finger before he put it on, and the way his clothes fit so tightly on his body. It didn't take him long to see the storehouse in the distance, and he grinned as he stepped through the broken fence. They had much to talk about, now that he was home.

That's when he stopped himself. _Home._ He considered the storehouse with Evan his home. The though made him smile even wider. He felt safe and warm around Evan. Almost untouchable around him. His cheeks always hurt from smiling so much, he slept easier when it was next to him, he felt listened to and cared for more than he ever had been. 

He wouldn't trade Evan for the world. As long as he remained in The Entity, he was Evan's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we did it gamers, we got another chapter
> 
> this one isn't was story-driver compared to the others and is kinda short, but i'll make it up to yall in the next one, i promise,,, i really just wanted to establish quent's adorable relationship with frank
> 
> despite all of that, i hope you enjoyed!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was listening to honey i’m home by ghost on loop while writing this chapter for,, no real reason because the song has nothing to do with the chapter. it just seems fitting and is fun to vibe to lmao. i hope you enjoy this one, I loved writing it !

As Dwight approached the storehouse, he started to think about what he was supposed to say. Of course, he didn’t intend on lying to Evan, but there was only so much he could say. He would mention that they talked about their relationship, but he assumed he didn’t have to go into the specifics, did he?

And that was another thing he thought about, the word _relationship._ That made it seem like they were together, that they were romantic or sexual with one another. Not that the idea of Evan giving him kisses down his chest and to his sensitive thighs was a bad thing-

Dwight shook that thought away. He didn’t want to be flustered when he walked inside, after all. He knew Evan would tease him for it if he did, and he would much rather avoid that situation entirely.   
  


With a soft sigh, he walked inside the storehouse, his footsteps light on the cement. It was loud enough for Evan to turn around, his mask loose on the side of his head. The man narrowed his eyes.

”Where were you?” He asked, and Dwight could hear the concern in his voice. Dwight smiled and approached him, putting a hand on his forearm to calm him down.   
  


“I was just at the survivor camp, that’s all. I’m fine.”   
  


“What happened to avoiding them?”

Dwight hummed and sat down on the table Evan was using. He let his legs swing over the edge. He looked almost childlike up there, with his feet dangling. It didn’t tell that Evan was a foot taller than he was and towered over him.   
  


“A friend convinced me to talk to them about our friendship. It didn’t go that badly, really.”   
  


Evan made a sound of acknowledgement, the only hint he was really paying attention. When he didn’t say anything, Dwight took that as a sign to keep talking.   
  


“Claudette and Jake were pretty fine with it. Quentin was more than okay with it, which was reassuring. It was only Meg that was opposed to our friendship. I figured she wouldn’t be too happy with it, so that wasn’t too surprising.”   
  


Evan sighed and slipped the mask fully off his head, tossing it aside next to Dwight. “You keep saying friendship.”   
  


Dwight swallowed and nodded. “Yes. Is that a bad thing?”

”Is that what we are? Friends?”   
  


Dwight’s face heated up, and he started down at his feet to avoid the piercing gaze of the killer. He heard footsteps approach him, but he refused to look up.   
  


“Yeah,” Dwight started, trying to sound coy despite his embarrassment. “What? Do you not want to be friends anymore?”

”You know exactly what I want. We don’t have to dance around it like we have been.”   
  


Dwight’s fingers gripped the sides of the table tightly, enough to where his knuckles turned white. His gut was screaming at him not to look up, but his curiosity got ten best of him. He glanced up, meeting the dark eyes in front of him. Evan has squeezed himself in between his legs, and had left practically no room between them.

”Yeah? I think you’ll have to spell it out for me.” Dwight said with a grin.   
  


“Alright. You know what I want? I want to claim you as mine.”   
  


The words went straight to Dwight’s groin, and Evan knew that. He tried to hide it, but he couldn’t hide the dark red on his cheeks. Dwight laughed, and took a moment to close his eyes. When he opened them, he tried to look small, innocent. His signature doe eyes.   
  


“Then claim me.”

Those three words prompted Evan to take the final step forward and finally, _finally_ connect their lips together. Dwight wrapped his arms around the man’s neck, pulling him down further so he could keep him close. The kiss was soft despite the words just spoken. As if Evan was still worried he would hurt him.   
  


Dwight was the one to pull away, giving himself a moment to breathe. He grinned, a wicked grin that he knew Evan savored. “I’m not made of glass, baby.”

Evan practically growled and pulled Dwight up for another kiss, this one much tougher than the previous. One of Evan’s hands went to tug at Dwight’s fluffy hair while the other dragged down his side and under his shirt. Dwight resisted the urge to let a whimper out at his warm hand against his chest.   
  


Evan bit down on Dwight’s lower lip and he gasped, but parted his lips enough for Evan to push his tongue inside. If this was what being claimed felt like, why didn’t Evan do this sooner? The feeling of being prey to this predator for once wasn’t scary, but instead made the warmth in his gut get worse and worse as his arousal built up.   
  


Suddenly Evan pulled away, both his mouth and his hands, making Dwight whine in response. Both of their faces were flushed, and Dwight drank in the beauty of Evan’s face being red for once.   
  


“...Question.” Evan finally said, and Dwight swallowed. It felt like a demand.

”Answer,” he replied, more timid compared to the dominant tone Evan had.

”...right now. Do you want this?”

And if Dwight was totally honest, he didn’t. It wasn’t that he was afraid of Evan hurting him, or that he never wanted to have sex with him, but he just wasn’t ready. They had just kissed for the first time, and as much as he loved the heated kiss, he didn’t know if he was ready for anything else yet. Dwight knew that Evan wouldn’t be upset at that answer either, he just felt ashamed for it. He felt like he was leading him on just to suddenly drop him.

Dwight sighed quietly. “Just kiss me again. Okay?” He offered a small, almost innocent smile. Evan returned it with one of his own.   
  


“Oh, I can do that.”   
  


And they were kissing again, Evan’s hands resting on Dwight’s sides. Dwight figured it was uncomfortable for him to bend down the way he was, so he had a better idea. Dwight took Evan’s hands in his own and dragged them down his body, teasingly, to his thighs. He could sense Evan’s curiosity.   
  


He separated their lips for only a moment, just to be able to speak. “Carry me. Must not be to hard for you, right? After all... you’re so _big.”_

”God, Dwight.” Evan scooped him up with ease, the way Dwight had predicted. He wrapped his hands around the man’s neck again, and his legs around his waist as best he could. Evan’s hands supported him by holding him up by his thighs. Dwight only chuckled and kissed him again.  
  


Time seemed to be a blur after that. They were inseparable, with Dwight staying wrapped around him, kissing him to his heart’s content. Eventually, he noticed Evan was moving, and the larger man brought them downstairs and onto the mattress.   
  


Evan hovered over Dwight’s tiny body, and he realized just how big Evan really was. And Evan seemed to notice it to, taking in Dwight’s smaller form below him. Dwight watched him lick his teeth, like an animal. He told himself he didn’t just whimper.

“So tiny, aren’t you?” Evan teased, dipping his head down to instead kiss at his neck. Dwight gasped and squirmed under him, trying to make himself seem bigger. It wasn’t working.   
  


“Oh, don’t hide it now, baby.” Evan practically growled against his skin. “Little boy... gonna claim you, okay?”   
  


Despite the situation, Dwight knew he was genuinely asking for permission. And for some reason, that made it hotter. The way he cared for him, was so careful. All Dwight managed to reply with was an approving him, and Evan grinned against his neck.   
  


“Atta boy...” He growled, and the next thing Dwight knew, he had teeth against his skin. A soft bite, but certainly enough to leave a mark. A mark that wouldn’t be covered by his shirt, so anyone could see who he belonged to. The sensation made him moan. He could feel Evan’s smile grow wider.   
  


Evan’s large hands trailed to Dwight’s chest, where he hesitated. He wanted to unbutton his shirt, he imagined. Dwight huffed a laugh and have the smallest nod. He was lucky Evan noticed, because he didn’t trust his voice. He was also lucky Evan didn’t demand him to use it.   
  


The bigger man practically ripped off his shirt as soon as he got the permission to do so. The buttons were undone and Evan ripped the shirt apart to reveal his chest. Dwight almost felt self conscious under Evan’s gaze, as if the man was judging him. But the animalistic grin that took over his face reassured him otherwise.   
  


“All mine.” The man huffed, ducking his head down to bite at his chest, right under his collarbone. Dwight let out another moan, his body betraying him. One of his hands went down to Evan’s head, keeping him there. He sucked on his skin, sure to leave a mark, before moving his head and leaving another right under his nipple. Dwight felt like his whole body was on fire and he _loved it._  
  


One after another, Dwight felt his body be claimed by Evan’s mouth. It was a feeling he wasn’t used to yet, but he wanted to be. By the time he was done, he had countless bites Ofer his chest and neck. Evan left one final one just above his waistline, being sure not to move his pants down an inch. That attention and care made Dwight’s heart swell.

Evan eventually pulled back, admiring his work, grinning again. Dwight felt so small under his gaze, and that was simply because he was. And that drove him wild.

”Mine.” Evan growled again, and that sent a shiver down Dwight’s spine.

Dwight widened his eyes, giving him the doe eyed look again that he knew the older man couldn’t resist. Dwight knew how to get the other riled up, at least.

”Evan.” He practically moaned, and he want he’d how the simple word affected his body. Dwight grinned watching the scene play out, of Evan’s face getting redder, his eyes glazing over with more lust. But he saw something else in his eyes, something close to fondness.   
  


Evan laid down next to Dwight, and made a gesture for Dwight to join him. Dwight gladly rolled over, laying on Evan’s sturdy chest again. He listened to his heartbeat, a sound that used to scare him, was now soothing and comfortable.   
  


“You know,” Evan started, rubbing small circles on Dwight’s back. “I would never do anything you didn’t want.”

Dwight looked up at him and smiled. “I know. Thank you for that.”

And they kissed again, and Dwight didn’t know what else described this moment in time with other than _complete._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE LOVE A MAN WHO ASKS FOR CONSENT
> 
> anyway yay !! they kissed now !! and Evan respects dwight’s boundaries and is okay if he isn’t ready to have sex yet !! 
> 
> this chapter was super fun to write so i hope you all enjoyed it <3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for the lack of content over this past month and a half... wow. i feel really bad, i have no excuse for not updating this story. i haven't been in the dbd fandom as much lately, i have hardly played and i haven't even watched any new videos over the new killer/survivor or played against them myself. i need to get back into dbd but i feel burnt out? either way, i'm not going to let this story die. i'm going to finish it, one way or another. 
> 
> so, with that in mind, i hope you enjoy this next chapter!

The Entity had never been kind to Dwight Fairfield, but he knew that all to well. The being would taunt him every so often, reminding him how long he'd been there, reminding him of his mortality that no longer belonged to him. Somehow, The Entity seemed to hate Dwight Fairfield, but love him all the same.

Maybe it's the same kind of love you have for your eldest child, your problem child. You really love them, but you find yourself punishing them all the time. But sometimes, on a rare occasion when you're both in a good mood, there really is a nice kind of love between you. Dwight would be dying in a trial as the killer chased his friends. He would bleed out on the floor, waiting for his friends to leave so he could be hooked. Then, as all of his friends left, he would hear the hum of the hatch, and he would be able to crawl away and escape. He would be injured and bleeding, but as he searched a chest, he found a medkit sitting at the bottom, allowing himself to heal and continue the trial fully healed. 

Other times, the Entity would taunt him. Mess with him. He'd bring a key to get out of the trial alive through the hatch, but as he's trying to unlock it the key gets stuck and breaks, leading him to get chased and eventually die. Or he goes to vault a window that he knows for a fact should be unblocked by now, but the black spikes are still covering the window. With nowhere else to go, he gets hit. 

Today seemed to be one of those days that The Entity didn't like him.

The two had laid there for a long while, talking about whatever they wanted. Evan told him about the time when he was a teenager when he found a gold vein in the mines. He took it for himself and kept it under his bed. 

"I kept it for a while, not because I was being petty, but because I wanted to make jewelry out of them, Or have someone else make jewelry for me. Like a ring or something. But I never-"

Dwight was listening, laying on top of his chest, but he practically fell off the bed, holding his chest tightly. Why did it hurt that bad? It hasn't felt like this since the very beginning. 

Evan immediately stopped talking and crouched down next to Dwight, one of his hands on his back. Dwight wasn't looking at him, but he could imagine the worried expression he had on his face. He could feel the older man's worry radiating off of him. "Dwight? What's wrong?" 

Dwight swallowed, waiting for the pain in his chest to subside a little. He offered the man a pained laugh. "Yeah, I'm... I'm good. Just being pulled to a trial. It hasn't hurt this bad in... in ages."

Evan sighed, seemingly understanding his pain. Dwight doubted the man had ever felt the pull this badly, considering he wasn't being pulled to the trial to be murdered over and over again. Or maybe he did, and Dwight was being ignorant. 

"Will you be okay? I don't want you to get hurt by any survivors."

"They won't do that." Dwight stood on shaky legs, and with Evan's help, he was able to stand fully upright. He needed to head out pretty soon, he didn't want to collapse in the middle of the woods "They might be mad at me, but they'd never do anything like that... probably."

He could tell his words didn't reassure his lover any, so he stood on his tip toes to press a kiss to his collarbone. "I'll be okay, I promise. I'll be back in fifteen, okay?"

He knew Evan didn't want to let him go. He kept his hand on his sides still, refusing to let go until Dwight moved first. Dwight didn't want to leave either, he never wanted to leave to go to a trial. But they both knew he needed to go. If he didn't leave himself, The Entity would drag him to the trial against his will. He knew better than to try that again. Dwight took a step back, and Evan let him go.

"Be safe."

"I'll try."

Dwight lingered at the stairs, taking one last look at his lover, before making his way up the stairs and jogging out of the estate. Dwight vaulted the pallet he threw when he first came here, what felt like ages ago. The memory made him smile as he ran to the campsite, past trees and pushes and heavy patches of grass. Eventually he saw the outskirts of the campsite, so he started to walk up to it, hoping the others didn't see how tired he was. When he was in the trials, he found he never got exhausted that often, and that he could run for ages. He had the strength to pull himself off the hook if he tried hard enough, and could throw down pallets with ease. Outside the trials, however, he was in the same shape he was when he was taken, which wasn't that great. He took a deep breath as he approached, and saw who he was in a trial with. Kate, Tapp, and Claudette. At least he had her.

Deciding not to bring anything with him, he just walked up to the other three, trying to ignore the eyes of the other survivors he had yet to talk to. He imagined Cheryl had told everyone what she experienced, and ignoring everyone didn't exactly make him look great, but he didn't know how to tell everyone. He struggled telling his best friends, let alone everyone else. 

Claudette watched him walk up and smiled, waving at him. Dwight returned it, choosing to stand next to her.

"Your first trial in a while, huh?" She brought up, which made Dwight surprised. He didn't know how many trials went by since his last one, but she did. He didn't realize how long he'd been gone. Of course, the lack of ability to tell time made it hard for him to tell.

"Yeah, I guess." He said with a shrug, rolling his shoulders. He hoped it was an easy trial to get him back into the swing of things, but trials were never easy anymore. If anything, they keep getting more difficult. "I'll be fine."

"Dwight!" Kate practically yelled, waving at him from only a few feet away. Dwight awkwardly waved back, still not exactly sure where she stood on the matter. "You're with a guy, huh? David owes me!"

Dwight blinked once, twice, then laughed, alongside Claudette and Tapp. It was nice to know they were fine with it. "Yeah yeah, don't mention it."

When did they make bets about him?

"Fairfield!" That certainly wasn't Kate's voice anymore, that was Meg's. He turned to face her, who was standing at the end of the fire. "Come talk to me when you're done, 'kay? Actually scratch that, you don't have a choice!"

Dwight got that lightheaded feeling, so he just waved her off. "Whatever you say, Thomas." His eyes got all blurry, the way they typically did, before his vision went black.

When his vision cleared, he was at Mount Ormond. Well, that was certainly a crutch for him. At least they didn't get a horrible map, like the indoor ones. The he hated the indoor ones, he always got lost and could never find generators or totems. Ormond was a different story. 

Dwight decided the best idea would be to find someone else and work on the middle generator. He walked at first, looking around for anyone. He saw Kate on the other side of the building, but she didn't see him. He picked up a rock and threw it at her, which misses, luckily. She turned around, and he pointed inside the building, and she seemed to understand. They both walked inside and started to work on the generator. 

"You missed your shot." She whispered, grinning at him for a moment before focusing her attention back on the gen. Dwight huffed a laugh.

"I'll try and be more accurate next time."

After a short while, Dwight felt uneasy, like someone was staring at them. He didn't hear his heartbeat though, the only indication a killer was nearby. If his suspicion was correct, then they were dealing with a stealth killer. Great. He pulled himself off the generator and snuck away, and he motioned for Kate to do the same thing. She just narrowed her eyes at him and kept working on the generator. Dwight ducked inside a locked by one of the doors. Eventually, he heard his ears ring with a familiar tune. Myers. Not long after, he heard Kate scream as she got hit and ran away from the generator. He tried to warn her.

After he was sure they were gone, he started to work on the generator again. maybe it was because he was here for such a long time, he could just tell when someone was looking at him. Maybe Kate knew and just wanted to do the generator anyway. It didn't matter to Dwight. He was after her, which meant he wasn't after him. That meant he could finish the generator. 

As he worked, he put the pieces together that he didn't have what they called an 'infinite tier 3' of his power. Once he gets there, he can down them with a one shot, and sometimes just kill them if he gets close enough to land a hit. But that usually took a long time to charge up, and he got to the second stage of his power far too quickly for that to be the case. That reassured him a little, at least. 

Eventually, both his gen and another got completed. Claudette and Tapp were probably together then. As he ran to go find another generator, Kate got downed. He assumed he would be closer to her, so he ducked behind some rocks and waited to see where she was hooked. He was right again, as she was hooked only a short distance away. He stayed behind the rocks, making sure he wasn't able to be seen. His white button down helped him out in the snowy region. Surprisingly, he never found himself to be cold unless he was on the ground here, despite the freezing temperatures and cold snow. 

Myers eventually walked off, and considering the killers now always knew where they were if they were far away, he presumed he was heading straight to Claudette and Tapp. Dwight walked up to the hook, being careful to hide his scratch marks in case he came back. He gently pulled Kate off the hook and started to patch her up. 

"I need to start listening to you more, I guess." She managed to say with a quiet laugh. 

"Yes, you do." He replied, hoping she could tell he was joking. He heard a scream from Tapp and then the tune again, loud in his ears. He must have gotten his full power. "We should stay over here for a sec. He ran off that way-" He pointed where he saw Myers run off to. "And he's probably chasing Tapp and Claudette. If we stay over here we'll be fine."

Kate nodded and he took her hand, gently guiding her to another generator on that side of the map. In the distance Tapp screamed, going down due to the attack. That wasn't that surprising, he just hoped Claudette made it out okay. Despite the scream, Dwight continued to work on the generator with Kate. Another scream, this time from Claudette. He was probably searching for them too. Dwight motioned for her to stay there on the generator, so he could poke his head out from behind some debris and look around. He didn't see him anywhere, and he was sure he wasn't looking at them, so he pulled away. He decided he would be the one saving everyone this trial.

Claudette screamed as she was hooked, so he imagined that Myers was on his way to hook Tapp. He figured as soon as he was done hooking Tapp, he's rush back to Claudette. Dwight decided to wait, unhook Tapp first, and then save Claudette, unless Kate went for the save. He hoped she was still on a generator, since nobody else would be. 

Dwight's assumption was right. As soon as Tapp was hooked, he rushed over to Claudette's hook. He was out of his power by now, which was good, but two people were still injured, so that didn't matter. As he picked Tapp up off the hook, Kate also screamed in the distance. Okay, so this trial was turning out great. Dwight quickly patched up Tapp and ran back to the generator he was working on with Kate, Tapp right behind him. Claudette would be unhooked by Kate and she could protect her injured friend, if Dwight predicted correctly.

Turns out he was right, but he didn't take the fact she would run to a dead zone into account. Kate screamed again, going down once again. At least he wasn't only chasing after the injured people. Dwight decided to finish the generator first before going to save her. She was on her second hook when Michael hooked her, but that was fine, because they had three generators done. As long as she played carefully, she should be fine. 

When the generator was finished, he looked around to see where the other generator was. He could see it across the map, meaning they could really pick any generator they wanted and be fine later on. Dwight ran to unhook Kate first before doing a gen. Claudette was most likely healing herself and doing a gen afterwards, so she would hopefully be fine. Dwight stopped running once he felt eyes on him. He looked around, scanning for the mask and hulking man along with it. He spotted him, just barely in view behind some debris near Kate's hook. He ducked into the motel, and ran up the flight of stairs, pash the whirring generator. 

The man was gone. 

Dwight looked behind him, but there was nothing. Beside him, nothing. He felt fear creep up, like a cold chill on his neck. He decided to act, jumping down from the ledge and unhooking Kate. As he pulled her off, his ears were ringing with his familiar tune- and that meant he was after them, with his one shot and extra speed. They parted ways immediately, Kate running off near a large rock and most likely a pallet and Dwight staying close to the 'jungle gym' that was nearby. He met eyes with the killer, but he ventured off to kill Kate for good. Dwight scrambled and sprinted away, feeling shame as Kate was downed again. He heard a generator finish- probably the one they were working on before, and ran to the other side of the yard, where he could see the faint outline of another gen behind a building. 

Claudette was there, and the gen was halfway completed. He tried to ignore his guilt by focusing on making it out alive, but that didn't make it any better. Tapp screamed in the distance, getting hit by the man. Dwight held his breath and kept working on the gen, even as Tapp screamed soon after, signaling he was downed again. Dwight got off the gen early to go save him, but a hushed yell from Claudette stopped him. She motioned to the gen, and he understood. Despite Tapp struggling, they completed the generator, which would catch the attention of the killer. Dwight crept towards Tapp's hook, avoiding running to stay hidden. Claudette ran to a door, and that would be where Dwight took Tapp as soon as he was unhooked. 

Myers walked past, doing a quick scan of the area, but missing Dwight as he did so. Dwight thanked his shirt for keeping him hidden next to the rock his back was pressed up against. Once Dwight was sure he was gone, he saved Tapp before it was too late. The two booked it to the gate, which they could hear open in the distance. Claudette screamed but seemed to make it out. It was just them, and the opened door. Dwight had to pray he wouldn't be ready to use his power. 

Tapp ran inside first, and Dwight winced behind him as the sound of his power activating once again. He stabbed Tapp, right in front of him, forcing the man to the ground. Dwight knew there was nothing he could do, so he used his slender frame to run past before he was attacked and ran for safety, muttering an apology to Tapp as he left. 

Once the trial was over, they gathered at the campfire. The chat didn't last long, though Dwight spent most of his time apologizing to Tapp and Kate, which they accepted. Sometimes that's just how it went. 

Meg cut the conversation short, stealing Dwight away. They walked to a secluded part of the forest, an area Dwight had never been in. She led him to a swamp of some kind, if he could even call it that. There was a small pond, surrounded by trees and other wetland plants. Lily pads and other plants floated on top of the water. A couple of logs rested on their sides, acting as a seat. It was gorgeous. 

"C'mon. I didn't drag you out here for nothin'. Sit." She said with a huff, and Dwight listened. They sat in silence for a while, Dwight taking in the pond. He hadn't seen _water_ like this in ages. Not even in the swamp. 

"It's pretty, ain't it? I found it on a jog a while ago. I come here to clear my head. Been 'ere a lot lately." She said with a sigh. Dwight only nodded, not wanting to interrupt. Her leg was bouncing, and she refused to look at the man. She was clearly nervous. 

"I treated you badly when you told us. About you 'n Trapper. I don't like what I did. I feel... dirty. Wrong. I dunno why you choose to date a killer. I guess it ain't my place to know." She clearly had no direction with this. She grumbled to herself. "I just wanted to say I ain't mad at ya. I don't hate ya, or anythin' like that. Alright?"

Dwight smiled at her honesty. It was unlike her to be so open with herself and her feelings. "Alright."

"Good. We back to normal?"

"Of course."

"Good. Now, let's skip some rocks!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've decided this fic won't last much longer. i feel like it's close enough to be completed in a satisfying way, and this way i can complete it instead of leaving it unfinished. 
> 
> don't worry, dwight and evan content won't be gone after this fic, i plan on doing more smaller stories with the two, once i get back into dbd the way i was before. i just figured it would be best to tell yall my plans for this fic and this ship in the future.
> 
> also, as a warning, there will be implied NSFW content in this chapter, before the line break. if you don't want to read, skip to that break and read onwards.
> 
> with that out of the way, as always, i hope you enjoy!

Dwight returned to the storehouse soaked. 

He and Meg went from skipping rocks to teasing each other, and that lead to Dwight getting chased by the athlete. The man slipped and fell on the mud, the woman soon following, and they both fell into the murky water. And they laughed and laughed and returned to the campfire soaking wet, where they were made fun of by their friends for being so reckless. Dwight didn't mind his white shirt being ruined, by next trial it would be clean again. He didn't mind being soaked, either. He was just cold. 

He stumbled into the storehouse, his footsteps wet and loud on the floor. Evan turned to him, worry filling his features at his lover's shivering form. 

"What happened to you?" He asked, approaching with a towel. Dwight noticed it was the one he used before, to clean the man after a trial. Dwight practically giggled at the memory. 

"I cleared some things up with a friend. We found this... pond thing. We fell in." He laughed, his teeth clattering against one another. Evan wrapped his arms around him, scooping him up into his arms and carrying him down the steps, the wooden stairs creaking under their joined weight. Dwight didn't notice how they gave under his feet the first time. 

Dwight was delicately placed down, and while he stared at his messy shirt, he could feel Evan's eyes digging into him. The way his white shirt clung to his chest, his smaller arms, his belly. Dwight wished all hsi time in trials made his body look better. But if Evan liked to look at him, he was in to place to want to change. 

"You'll need to get those clothes off if you want to warm up." The man added, voice low. He was staring at his chest, and didn't stop once Dwight looked up to catch him in the act. Shameless. 

"Do you have a spare shirt or something? Can't really walk around... you know."

"Why not?"

"Evan!"

The younger man practically burst into flames at the idea he would be walking around naked. And Evan laughed at him, hearty and loud, and Dwight didn't have it in him to get upset with him. 

"You can wear one of my shirts. But you gotta get out of yours, first." The man said after his laughing. Dwight's fingers were fidgeting at the first button on his shirt. He only realized then he was missing his tie. He must have lost it in the water. 

He hesitated to unbutton it. His fingers messed with the button, but never letting it pop open. He chewed on his bottom, lip, thinking for a second. But a wicked grin soon rose on his lips, and he knew Evan felt it. 

"Why don't you come do it for me?"

Evan grumbled and took a step forward. "You're playing with fire, Fairfield."

"I'm not scared." Dwight, feeling a surge of confidence, took a step right back towards him. "Burn me."

WIth that invitation, Evan picked him up and set him on the bed, before crawling over him. Dwight felt so small under him, but that confidence was still washing over him in waves. While small, he didn't feel powerless. 

"Evan." His word sounded like a command, and Evan looked down at him as though it were one. He knew the man wanted to ravage him, tear him apart and make him scream. But that was happening on _Dwight's_ terms, and _Dwight_ would have the say in what happened. And he knew Evan would go along with it, and do as he asked. He cared too much not to. "Be slow."

"We might not have much time." The man argued.

"I said slow." Dwight's voice seemed to drop a level, and he watched as Evan's face went a shade darker. He heard him swallow away any argument he had.

"Yeah, okay. Where the hell did that come from?" He asked, gently unbuttoning the button down that was clinging to Dwight's muscles. The younger man chuckled.

"I gotta keep you on your toes somehow, love." He replied simply, and watched as his shirt was opened one by one. Watched how Evan wanted to tear it open, but didn't. Watched how delicate he was when it was taken off his chest and set aside for later, not tossed wherever. 

"You didn't want this before." His lover murmured, his large hands trailing down Dwight's smooth, cold skin. Yet despite how cold he was, his hands seemed to leave blazes behind them wherever they travelled. Really was burning him. "What made you change your mind?"

Dwight hummed in reply, not saying anything for a while. Letting Evan lean his head down to leave kisses and small bites on his chest. Dwight didn't care if he had bruises later, if anything The Entity would get rid of them the next time he went to a trial. The idea of him stumbling back to the campfire with bruises reminded him of Quentin, the first time they met in the forest. He laughed. "I was scared, the first time. Overwhelmed by a lot of things. I think I'll be okay now."

"Are you sure?"

"I am." Dwight cupped Evan's face, forcing him to look up at him so he could kiss him. Soft, gentle, like he had asked. He could feel Evan's smile against his lips. He could also feel his large hands struggling with the button on his jeans. Dwight pulled away from him. 

"What, you too big to unbutton it?" He teased, and Evan just rolled his eyes. 

"Don't be a brat."

And Dwight laughed at that, even though it wasn't particularly funny. Which he knew was fine by Evan, who just watched him tilt his head back as he laughed, while still struggling with the button. He eventually popped it open and started to tug them down, again struggling, this time because the wet jeans were clinging to Dwight's legs like they depended on it. 

Eventually Evan was able to get them down, setting them aside where his shirt was in a nice pile. The man also did him a favor of taking his shoes and socks off as well. Dwight looked up at the man, still fully dressed. 

"Why am I the only one undressed here?" He asked, a small grin on his face. Evan didn't respond, only ducked his head down to kiss his chest again, which made Dwight gasp. He trailed his head down, lower, until he was leaving kisses and bites on Dwight's thighs.

"Dwight." His name felt like a command. "Do you really want this?"

"My love." Dwight responded, the words making Evan look up at him. He just smiled, cute and innocent, with those god forsaken doe eyes. "Please."

And who was Evan to deny him when he looked like that?

* * *

Dwight woke up wrapped in a blanket and draped in one of Evan's shirts. His lover was absent from the bed, but Dwight couldn't see where he went. Mostly because his glasses were set on the end table next to the bed. He aimlessly searched for them until finding where they were, and pushed them onto his head. Evan wasn't around when he looked. 

He stood, his legs wobbly and back sore from their time together, but it was a good kind of sore. And a weird kind, not because it was different, it was because he hadn't felt genuinely sore in so long. It was a feeling he thought he would never want back, but now that he had it, he almost cherished the feeling of his muscles straining to work. 

The shirt on his back really did look like a dress on him, reaching down a little past his knees, and that was Evan's smallest one. Not that Dwight minded. He got to walk around in it, and it smelled like him, so he wasn't going to complain. He padded up the stairs, noticing they didn't give under his weight nearly as much, they hardly squaked under him the way they did with Evan. He really was tiny compared to him. 

Once up the stairs, he looked around, searching for his lover, but not finding him. Instead, he found a letter, scribbled out hastily from the look of it, sitting on the crate Dwight loves to sit on. He read it.

_Dwight, don't worry if I'm gone when you wake up. I'm out talking to a friend. I'll be back soon. There's water on my desk, drink it if you need it. Your clothes are hanging out to dry outside if you need them. Love you. -Evan_

Dwight hummed as he read the letter. That was a development, then. Killers could go to other killers realms. He supposed The Entity didn't allow them to the survivor campsite, then. Would lead to a bloodbath for no reason, and that wouldn't be fun for it. But it allows survivors to visit killers on their own accord, if they know how to do it. He wondered why it was like this, but he wasn't going to complain. Not if he gets to see Evan more. 

But that raised the question of who Evan was going to see. Not because the survivor was jealous. No, he knew Evan was better than that. More out of curiosity, who he was friends with and who he avoided. He first suspected The Huntress, which seemed to be the most likely of options, especially after their encounter in that trial. That felt like ages ago now. 

His mind wandered to other possibilities. Perhaps the Deathslinger, the Oni, the Plague. He tried to think of those whose personality (or what he thought their personality would be like, anyway) were agreeable with his. Definitely not the Legion, which might have caused some problems later on when he finds out about Quentin. _If,_ he corrects himself. If Quentin doesn't want him to know, it's not his place to tell him anyway.

Dwight wandered around the storehouse, trying to do something to occupy himself. He eventually found a handheld mirror in one of the many boxes and actually looked at himself for once. His hair, messy due to the events from before and very clearly tugged on. It was darker than he remembered, Longer. His eyes looked more tired than he last remembered them. His baby freckles dotting his face, his pink lips, still slightly swollen. He couldn't remember the last time he saw himself. Nor could he remember the last time he liked his appearance. Until now, anyway. 

He looked around for more things to do. Things he normally would have taken for granted seemed like blessings from heaven now. Buried deep in a box, piled with old newspaper articles and business documents, broken pencils and random scraps was a small radio. A _radio._ Dwight nearly cried. 

He turned it on, shocked even more that it was still operational. He turned the old dial, getting his fingers dirty with the dust that coated the thing, having been untouched for years, most likely. He scraped away the dust drop the small screen, displaying what station it was currently set to. There was nothing, but the screen glowed, signaling it was on. Dwight turned the knob until he reached a number- 555.1. He smiled a little- one of his friends from before would say he was seeing an 'angel number'. After being taken by The Entity, he wasn't so sure about angels. 

But music slowly started to crackle open from the box and played. An older song, from the sound of it, one Dwight didn't recognize. But he nearly cried then, tears pricking at his eyes, but he blinked them away. It had been so, so _long_ since he last heard music. And despite the general slowness of the song, Dwight gently sat it down on Evan's desk and started to sway. 

There he was, a sight to see- his neck trailing with bruises and bitemarks from the hours before, draped in a red shirt that reached his knees, hair messy and tousled and glasses halfway down his face, swaying and spinning to a song he didn't know. But then, the song changed. To one he knew, one he knew well, enough to start dancing along and singing to. It had been so long since he sang, too. His voice was scratchy and a little off pitch at first, but he enjoyed himself all the same. 

He was so wrapped up in himself he nearly missed the footsteps behind him. Nearly.

When he turned, he saw his lover, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. His mask tilted on the side of his head, just watching him and his antics. Dwight's upbeat singing turned into a yell of embarrassment and he turned away again, not looking at the man. He knew he would tease him for his red face. 

"Can't even offer a man a dance, I see." His footsteps approached Dwight but he still refused to look. Instead, the large arms wrapped around him, and started to sway along with him. Dwight was still completely embarrassed, but couldn't bear the thought of pulling away. Not that he really could, anyway. Not when Evan was so much stronger than he could ever hope to be.

They stayed like that for a while, swaying in a comfortable silence as the song came to a close. Even then, they didn't pull away. Dwight pushed himself closer to Evan's warm chest and grinned, wide and unashamed. He was happy. Truly, honestly happy. 

"Who did you go see?" He asked, nosy as ever. Evan hummed. 

"Anna and Amanda. The Huntress and The Pig, as you know them." 

"A girls night out!"

"Never say that again."

And Dwight laughed, trying to pull himself into a standing ball but couldn't due to Evan's arms being in the way. And he could feel his eyeroll, but he didn't care, and he knew the older man didn't really care, either. 

And the song changed again, to a much slower one than before. And Dwight could faintly make out the words, knew it was a love song. He smiled and pushed at Evan's arms, and he pulled them away. Instead, he turned and offered his hand. 

"Since you wanted to make a big deal out of it- shall we dance?" He asked, feeling more like a suave prince asking the commoner to dance under the stars rather than a scrawny boy in an oversized shirt of the man he was asking to dance with. 

"I don't know how." Evan admitted, but he took his hand anyway.

"It's okay. I don't either." Dwight grinned, and Evan grinned back to match. And the pair set off, awkwardly stumbling at fist but getting into a smooth rhythm that they both knew wasn't the right way to do it but it felt so right to them, so to hell with however it was supposed to be like. And Dwight had to stand on Evan's shoes to reach and sometimes the bandages on the bottom of his feet got torn but he didn't mind.

It was then, he realized how content he was. The Entity was a tormentor, it abused the survivors and even the killers sometimes, forcing them into the cat and mouse game they had grown used to. But even then, after all the times he had been murdered by this man, when he looked at him his eyes were only filled with love and affection. The fear once there was gone, replaced by a warmth that had likely never reached the light of day in The Entity. And the look Evan gave back showed he didn't want that either. And Dwight realized something else, too.

Maybe, after all that time in the real world, being bullied and hurt and forgotten, maybe it was to lead to this. To this moment, slow dancing with a man he was supposed to fear, giggling and exchanging kisses. And Dwight wouldn't complain if that was true. Not if it lead to Evan. To this.

He was home.


	17. Chapter 17

Dwight Fairfield learned very early on in The Entity and its games that you have to think on your feet. 

He went through it himself, but over the days, the months, and presumably the years of being trapped in the horrible games, you learn how to survive as long as possible. And over those years, he stopped dying as much himself. That never stopped himself from throwing his life away to save his friends, but outside of that? He could certainly hold his own. He wasn't as strong as David, as fast as Meg, as sneaky as Nea, but he would dare say he was the smartest around, and that was what carried him, trial after trial. 

At the beginning, he either thought too much or too little. His feet would carry him to a window, but he would panic and hesitate and get hit for his efforts. Or he wouldn't pay attention and run straight into a dead zone, with nothing to carry him but a few spare trees, and down he would go. Too much, too little. But those days were behind him now. His inexperience was a crutch for his failures back then, but now failures came few and far between.   
  


_Pallet coming up,_ he told himself, whipping past fields of corn to avoid the masked horror of The Legion behind him. Susie, if he remembered correctly. His motions were far too timid to be Julie. Yet her knife was already stained and dripping with blood. _Can’t get greedy, not when she can jump over it._

Sweat pooled in his hair and dropped down the side of his face as he narrowly avoided a swipe of a blade. He tossed down the pallet he’d arrived at, and watched as the young woman lowered her body. Dwight was already running to the other side of the hay bale as she kept over it, pink hair now flowing as her hood fell down. She was sprinting now, at him. He vaulted the pallet. So did she.   
  


He ran into the corn, hoping that she would lose him in the fields. Hope that his racing heartbeat would get lost in the wind. They only had two gens left, but Cheryl had been sacrificed already. He prayed for one to pop before she hit him.   
  


He heard her footsteps racing behind him, and panicked. He suddenly pivoted and went into a jungle gym, leaping into a window and only then realizing she had swung, narrowly missing and instead hitting the wall. She grabbed her head and groaned in pain, and he took the time to run off. A generator went off across the map. One to go, at least.   
  


When he looked back, the young woman had pulled her hood back up and was adjusting the colorful mask as she stalked after him. He looked ahead again. Killers shack didn’t have a pallet and it did have a basement. The next jungle gym denned to be a better choice. One gen left, anyway. He could use the pallet there, if it had one.   
  


He leaped into the window, and looked out to see her walking at an angle, trying to go in from the side. He walked, slow so he could still see her, in the opposite direction. He watched her grind her foot into the tilled dirt, and with a tilt of her head, exploded into another sprint. Dwight followed that idea and ran again.   
  


The little game lasted a while, but he eventually got hit on a bad prediction. He winced and gripped at his insides that threatened to be on the outside with too much exertion. She was still running at him, even after hitting him once. He was the obsession, after all.   
  


A generator popped in the distance.   
  


Dwight grinned but it was wiped from his face as another slash, this time to his back, caused him to yell out in pain. He felt a shiver go up his now bleeding spine when he looked back to see her mask tilted up enough to see a wicked smile. His intuition told him to run, run across the map and straight to a door. He always listened to his intuition. As he ran, his blood spilling into the yellow stalks, his gut told him something else.   
  


She had Rancor, didn’t she?

Panic set in when the thought crossed his mind. He was the obsession. After doing so well this trial, would he die to Rancor? He pushed his glasses up to look at the door. It was halfway there, but bringing Susie to the door with his friends, both of which on their final hooks, seemed like a death trap for all of them. He sighed, and veered right.   
  


Susie followed him instead of going to the door, and he knew he would die a martyr once again.   
  


At least when she eventually got him down, he could hear the door being opened. He smiled up at the killer and could tell she was smiling right back. He relaxed into the dirt as she stabbed him. He saved his friends.   
  


He was given apologies when he returned to camp, but he paid them no mind. He didn’t need to be thanked. It was natural to him. He didn’t need to save himself, he could never do it before. Saving others seemed more important, and more plausible.   
  


Meg patched him up. As she bandaged up his stabs, he felt a shift in the air. Watched as the fire moved, as though it was being hit by the wind. A leaf fell into his chest.   
  


“You feel that?” He asked Meg. She nodded.   
  


“Someone new.” She replied, and they stayed in a stunned silence as the wind danced with the flames. But it ended as soon as it started, and she got back to her bandages.   
  


The Entity had a way of letting them know when someone new was arriving. Only the older members caught on- the wind blowed- faint, but still there- guiding a lost soul into it. He wondered what they would be like. The survivor and the killer.   
  


After a few minutes, Meg tugged his shirt back down. She smiled at him, wide and true. She was missing a tooth. “Go on, now. Go talk to your lover boy. ‘M sure he felt it too.”   
  


Dwight laughed and stood, looking down at the ground. He looked at a leaf on the floor, a new one. He smiled and crushed it under his shoe. It was crunchy.   
  


He walked into the woods, his kind filling with his lover. Of the way his hands were always so, so warm when they caressed his skin. Of the crinkles in his eyes when he smiled. Of his scent, which seemed to linger on every piece of clothing Dwight owned. It wasn’t look until he arrived, but not at the storehouse. He walked through the busted fence and was taken aback by deja vu.   
  


It was the mineshaft, the same one he had run through countless times. The same one where he digged through the chest at the bottom only to be cornered. The same one where he had first talked to the man, as an equal. Evan wasn’t working on a bear trap this time, though. The radio he had scavenged for was playing a scratchy version of some song he may have known in another life, and his lover was _drawing._  
  


He walked out, his footsteps light but he knew the man heard them. He didn’t look up from his paper, though. He looked so focused. Dwight took in the way his eyebrows pinched together as he mimicked the face he seemed to be drawing. He didn’t recognize the figure.   
  


“Who is that?” He asked gently, and stood beside him. Evan shifted the paper so he could see it better.   
  


“Phillip. The Wraith.” He replied, and continued to draw. Dwight could see a resemblance, but it wasn’t The Wraith. Was missing the bell, the markings on his face, the flayed skin. No, this was a young boy. This was a kid, with slender eyes and straight hair. That was Phillip. He smiled.   
  


“Did you feel it?” He asked. He looked down at the ground and saw dark leaves, new and that hadn’t been crushed into dust after ages of stepping on them. Killers kept them fresh as long as possible in the domains to me loud when they were stepped on. Survivors only prayed they were crunched during a chase, and not when sneaking around. Evan hummed.   
  


“I did.” He started, scratching his name down next to the boy’s neck and setting the materials aside. “I came out here to watch. Feel it. I’m cold. Been a while since I’ve been cold.”   
  


Evan spoke with a softness that was rare for him. And when he looked at Dwight, his eyes were filled with a fondness he reserved for quiet moments like this. He looked so soft yet rigid from work, so strong vet vulnerable. Dwight kissed him.

Dwight kissed him, so tender and loving, wrapped into his embrace until he felt the cold be replaced by a fire inside of him. And even when he felt that he didn’t pull away.   
  


But sadly they had to breathe, so pull away they must. Dwight smiled through lidded eyes. He swore there were hearts in his eyes.   
  


“Us against the world,” Evan muttered, and Dwight’s heart soared. He knew what that meant. He struggled to express certain emotions, and Dwight even more so struggled to understand them. But he knew. _Us against the world. I love you._

”Always, my love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter seems shorter than I thought but i find it fitting. gotta cram in another trial scene though lmao. 
> 
> i hope y’all enjoyed this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. i know my writing style or depictions of the characters are inconsistent, but to those who stuck around to read it all, thank you! from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 
> 
> i plan on writing more dbd related content, including more evan and dwight in the future. for now, i think i want to relax from writing dbd related stuff and move into my other fandoms and such. i hope at least one of you stays around for that lmao.
> 
> this is the last time I can say it here, but thank you so much for reading, and i hope you enjoyed!


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